While politicians and lobbyists squabble about the possibility of a condition known as “chronic Lyme disease”, other scientists are studying what makes Lyme chronic.  The evidence of chronic Lyme disease has already been thoroughly examined and confirmed, and yet there is a massive effort to disavow chronically suffering individuals from accessing insurance coverage and social security disability in a blatant case of discrimination.

To make matters worse, the doctors who desperately want to help their suffering patients are afraid to treat them for some very real reasons:

• peer pressure from other doctors in a large practice;
• liability from other doctors filing charges of malpractice – NOT the patients, but ignorant physicians;
• the outrageous cost of law suits charged by other doctors NOT patients.
  

Meanwhile the PhD’s are ignoring the debate completely fascinated by such an intelligent bacteria.  Somehow the Hippocratic Oath seems to mean more to the scientists than the medical practitioners.

What is wrong with this picture?

The exciting news from LaJolla last month (February 2009) from Mitchell Kronenberg, PhD. was lost in the stormy debate about who should sit on the panel to review the IDSA guidelines.  To me, it really doesn’t matter as long as the new committee is required to consult with the scientists like Dr. Kronenberg who seems to understand Lyme disease better than the entire IDSA (Infectious Disease Society of America).

Dr. Kronenberg and his group of researchers have been studying the course of Lyme disease in mice for years, and published their earlier findings in 2005.  Click here for more information on Dr. Kronenberg’s background.

According to La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology Lyme disease and the doctor’s findings are described as follows:

“Lyme Disease is categorized as an emerging infectious disease. What this means is that lyme disease is becoming more dangerous. Despite our advances in medical science, lyme disease has increased in prevalence over the last 20 years. Spread most commonly through the bite of a tick, lyme disease is something that can be treated in its early stages with simple antibiotic regimens. However, should it not be caught soon enough or dealt with sufficiently, lyme disease can turn into a disabling illness that is difficult to successfully treat.

The disease can cause a variety of symptoms ranging from a simple rash and fever to less common cardiac complications and neurological problems. However, if lyme disease progresses to a chronic stage, it can trigger problems such as arthritis, myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscles), meningoencephalitis (an infection of the brain and surrounding tissues) and a wide array of neurological problems. Due to variances in the bacteria that lead to lyme disease, though, it’s virtually impossible to predict how the disease will infect the human body. Each case varies.

Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., and his lab have made a critical finding regarding this disease. They discovered that the bacteria that causes lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, contains a certain glycolipid (a cell-signaling molecule) which will activate the body’s Natural Killer T cells (NKT cells). These NKT cells are valuable soldiers in the body’s defense system, and are known for fast and effective attacks against infection in the body. The discovery was made even more important because the bacteria that activates the NKT cells is one of only three substances known to naturally induce this response from the body.

Scientists are now hopeful that the discovery of this crucial part of Lyme Disease will enable the creation of a vaccine for the virus.”

On a more practical note, we know from the decades of research accomplished by Dr. Burrascano that a person with Lyme disease will have a low CD-57 count which is a NKT.  Cat’s Claw (it does not matter if it is TOA free or not) is harvested from the bark of the Una de Gato, stimulates the increase of the missing killer cells.  This is a product that should be in every household living with Lyme disease.

Cat’s Claw produced by Raintree Nutrition can be purchased for just above $10 (for 100 capsules/500 mg) and is the recommended product by Stephen Buhner, author of Healing Lyme, and respected herbalist for over 30 years.

So, in addition to sending emails to your US Senator’s and Congressmen, have hope.  Science (and prayer) will prevail.