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Why
Are We Still Sick?
By Tom Grier
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What
advantage is it to the organism to find its way back into the blood where
the immune system is? It is a human assumption that this is a disease
that likes to stay in the bloodstream. The reality is that it avoids the
blood stream. It favors sequestered sites and even has receptors to escape
the blood vessels and receptors to attach to collagen and brain cells!
If the target tissues of the organism are the brain, heart, tendons,
joint and bladder as is suggested by animal models, then blood samples
are a poor choice for determining relapse? For the bacteria the blood
vessels are a transportation route like a subway tunnel. For the
doctor blood is probably used more as a matter of convenience than using
more costlier more time consuming sampling methods that also carry greater
risks to the patient. A brain biopsy is generally not an option but the
following case history will show that a brain tissue sample is sometimes
much more revealing than a blood test or even a spinal fluid test.
Before we look at this next study bear in mind that Dr. Patricia Coyle M.D. Ph.D. an expert on Multiple Sclerosis from Stony Brook Hospital looked at multiple spinal fluid samples from Lyme patients with all stages of the disease. She did not find standard Lyme tests to be particularly revealing or useful in predicting CNS invasion by the bacteria. When a more sensitive non-commercially assay was used it was found CNS invasion was higher than what the standard CSF tests had shown. In other words a simple spinal tap cannot prove the absence of Lyme meningitis or encephalitis.
# 2 - A Case History of Dementia and Death in a Lyme Patient: Journal of Neuropsychiatry Vol. 7, No.3 Summer 1995 (Cristina Waniek M.D., Isak Prohovnik Ph.D, Mavis A. Kaufman M.D., Andrew J. Dwork M.D.) Rapidly Progressive Frontal-Type Dementia Associated With Lyme Disease This article describes a 47 year old man who was a teacher and football coach for 25 years. He started having abrupt personality changes that affected his family and work. Although he had no other prior symptoms of Lyme disease he lived and worked in an endemic area and was tested. He had a positive ELISA test. (This test tests total antibodies against the Lyme bacteria in the blood) He was treated with four weeks of IV Rocephin, followed by six more weeks of high dose oral antibiotics. He experienced a significant improvement and returned to work. Five months later he began to deteriorate again and had a rapid deterioration of cognitive abilities. His second ELISA test was negative. He was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital and placed on Haldol and other tranquilizers for early onset dementia. At age 52 he died of aspiration pneumonia (Due to repeated chokings from his difficulty to swallow). The Psychiatrist involved suspected active infection of the brain and ordered a brain autopsy to be done. Silver staining (Dieterle Satin) of the cortical regions of his brain revealed spirochetes consistent with the Lyme bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi .
Could it be Syphilis?: Since the two bacteria look similar under the microscope and cause similar mutli-symptom disease presentations it could be argued it was syphilis. The key here is to understand that the chances of his positive ELISA test cross reacting to Syphilis is about 1 in 10,000. So it is most likely the spirochetes were at the very least in the Borrelia family if not Borrelia burgdorferi which are endemic to the ticks in his neighborhood. (From an epidemiological standpoint he was at low risk for Syphilis, but the point is raised here in conjunction with another case history that will be presented.)
Why are there no antibodies after antibiotics are given if the infection remains in the body? The result of an infection that is cleared from the bloodstream by antibiotics is that the immune system will slow down or stop the production of antibodies. (This is not the same thing as suppression of the immune system, it is simply removing the stimulus for an antibody response namely the bacteria.) Since the brain is not immunocompetent (No cells in the brain can produce antibodies.) an infection trapped in the brain but is absent from the bloodstream, could result in negative serologies for antibodies. Antibodies will be made only as long as the plasma cells (B-cell lymphocytes) have memory of the infection. Dr. Russell Johnson of the U of MN showed that most patients quickly lose there antibodies within six months of treatment. *In other words the incomplete treatment of this infection not only resulted in the infection surviving in the brain, but it also contributed to the body shutting down its natural immunity to continue fighting the infection. The loss of stimulation of the immune cells by active infection in the blood may contribute to worsening the patient's condition if the infection is trapped in immune sequestered areas of the body such as the brain. If you take away the body's immune defenses, and then take away the antibiotics prematurely, what is left to stop a growing infection trapped in the brain? (This is a theory that has been briefly tested in the primate model of Lyme disease and shown to cause a more rapid progression of CNS disease when antibodies are suppressed.)
--------------------
# 3 - A Case History of Culture Positive Lyme disease Post Prolonged Antibiotic Therapy: Infectious Disease In Clinical Practice, Vol.3, No.3 (Ed Masters M.D.) Spirochetemia After Continuous High-Dose Oral Amoxicillin Therapy A 40 year-old white male from Southern Illinois received a bite from a Lonestar tick, and developed a bull's-eye rash consistent with Lyme disease. He then started to develop multisystem symptoms consistent with Lyme disease including, short term memory loss, heart palpitations, paratheisias, and joint and muscle pain. He was placed on 1500 mg of amoxicillin three times a day for six months. His symptoms improved. After discontinuing the medication he had a prompt relapse of symptoms and within two weeks of discontinuation of the amoxicillin he started worsening again. One month later his serum was placed in BSK culture media and sent to the Texas department of health where spirochetes consistent with Borrelia burgdorferi were successfully cultured and transferred to a new culture. The cultures stained for Borrelia burgdorferi membrane and were also PCR positive for Borrelia OSP-A and OSP-B DNA primers. Both the dosage and the length of antibiotic treatment were considered adequate if not excessive by the standard of care at the time.
Despite a lengthy treatment and an improvement of symptoms, a relapse in symptoms occurred almost immediately after discontinuation of therapy, and the infection was cultured. This indicates that the Lyme spirochete has mechanisms by which it can survive in the human body despite massive amounts of antibiotics given for extended lengths of time. How can this bacteria resist antibiotics? One such method of evading antibiotics may be as simple as some of the bacteria hidden throughout the body simply choose to become metabolically inactive or dormant. If the antibiotic cannot be taken up by the bacteria and interrupt the division cycle of the bacteria, then the dormant ones will survive regardless of the dosage of antibiotic used. The e bacteria must take up the drug and the drug must then shut down certain protein metabolism processes to kill the bacteria. The antibiotic kill the easy to reach bacteria in the blood and the most metabolically active ones, but DORMANT bacteria are like spores waiting for a chance to grow!
Before we look at this next study bear in mind that Dr. Patricia Coyle M.D. Ph.D. an expert on Multiple Sclerosis from Stony Brook Hospital looked at multiple spinal fluid samples from Lyme patients with all stages of the disease. She did not find standard Lyme tests to be particularly revealing or useful in predicting CNS invasion by the bacteria. When a more sensitive non-commercially assay was used it was found CNS invasion was higher than what the standard CSF tests had shown. In other words a simple spinal tap cannot prove the absence of Lyme meningitis or encephalitis.
# 2 - A Case History of Dementia and Death in a Lyme Patient: Journal of Neuropsychiatry Vol. 7, No.3 Summer 1995 (Cristina Waniek M.D., Isak Prohovnik Ph.D, Mavis A. Kaufman M.D., Andrew J. Dwork M.D.) Rapidly Progressive Frontal-Type Dementia Associated With Lyme Disease This article describes a 47 year old man who was a teacher and football coach for 25 years. He started having abrupt personality changes that affected his family and work. Although he had no other prior symptoms of Lyme disease he lived and worked in an endemic area and was tested. He had a positive ELISA test. (This test tests total antibodies against the Lyme bacteria in the blood) He was treated with four weeks of IV Rocephin, followed by six more weeks of high dose oral antibiotics. He experienced a significant improvement and returned to work. Five months later he began to deteriorate again and had a rapid deterioration of cognitive abilities. His second ELISA test was negative. He was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital and placed on Haldol and other tranquilizers for early onset dementia. At age 52 he died of aspiration pneumonia (Due to repeated chokings from his difficulty to swallow). The Psychiatrist involved suspected active infection of the brain and ordered a brain autopsy to be done. Silver staining (Dieterle Satin) of the cortical regions of his brain revealed spirochetes consistent with the Lyme bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi .
Could it be Syphilis?: Since the two bacteria look similar under the microscope and cause similar mutli-symptom disease presentations it could be argued it was syphilis. The key here is to understand that the chances of his positive ELISA test cross reacting to Syphilis is about 1 in 10,000. So it is most likely the spirochetes were at the very least in the Borrelia family if not Borrelia burgdorferi which are endemic to the ticks in his neighborhood. (From an epidemiological standpoint he was at low risk for Syphilis, but the point is raised here in conjunction with another case history that will be presented.)
Why are there no antibodies after antibiotics are given if the infection remains in the body? The result of an infection that is cleared from the bloodstream by antibiotics is that the immune system will slow down or stop the production of antibodies. (This is not the same thing as suppression of the immune system, it is simply removing the stimulus for an antibody response namely the bacteria.) Since the brain is not immunocompetent (No cells in the brain can produce antibodies.) an infection trapped in the brain but is absent from the bloodstream, could result in negative serologies for antibodies. Antibodies will be made only as long as the plasma cells (B-cell lymphocytes) have memory of the infection. Dr. Russell Johnson of the U of MN showed that most patients quickly lose there antibodies within six months of treatment. *In other words the incomplete treatment of this infection not only resulted in the infection surviving in the brain, but it also contributed to the body shutting down its natural immunity to continue fighting the infection. The loss of stimulation of the immune cells by active infection in the blood may contribute to worsening the patient's condition if the infection is trapped in immune sequestered areas of the body such as the brain. If you take away the body's immune defenses, and then take away the antibiotics prematurely, what is left to stop a growing infection trapped in the brain? (This is a theory that has been briefly tested in the primate model of Lyme disease and shown to cause a more rapid progression of CNS disease when antibodies are suppressed.)
--------------------
# 3 - A Case History of Culture Positive Lyme disease Post Prolonged Antibiotic Therapy: Infectious Disease In Clinical Practice, Vol.3, No.3 (Ed Masters M.D.) Spirochetemia After Continuous High-Dose Oral Amoxicillin Therapy A 40 year-old white male from Southern Illinois received a bite from a Lonestar tick, and developed a bull's-eye rash consistent with Lyme disease. He then started to develop multisystem symptoms consistent with Lyme disease including, short term memory loss, heart palpitations, paratheisias, and joint and muscle pain. He was placed on 1500 mg of amoxicillin three times a day for six months. His symptoms improved. After discontinuing the medication he had a prompt relapse of symptoms and within two weeks of discontinuation of the amoxicillin he started worsening again. One month later his serum was placed in BSK culture media and sent to the Texas department of health where spirochetes consistent with Borrelia burgdorferi were successfully cultured and transferred to a new culture. The cultures stained for Borrelia burgdorferi membrane and were also PCR positive for Borrelia OSP-A and OSP-B DNA primers. Both the dosage and the length of antibiotic treatment were considered adequate if not excessive by the standard of care at the time.
Despite a lengthy treatment and an improvement of symptoms, a relapse in symptoms occurred almost immediately after discontinuation of therapy, and the infection was cultured. This indicates that the Lyme spirochete has mechanisms by which it can survive in the human body despite massive amounts of antibiotics given for extended lengths of time. How can this bacteria resist antibiotics? One such method of evading antibiotics may be as simple as some of the bacteria hidden throughout the body simply choose to become metabolically inactive or dormant. If the antibiotic cannot be taken up by the bacteria and interrupt the division cycle of the bacteria, then the dormant ones will survive regardless of the dosage of antibiotic used. The e bacteria must take up the drug and the drug must then shut down certain protein metabolism processes to kill the bacteria. The antibiotic kill the easy to reach bacteria in the blood and the most metabolically active ones, but DORMANT bacteria are like spores waiting for a chance to grow!
Ticks carry more than just
Lyme disease! Including:
0 -Ehrlichia;
o -Bartonella;
0 -Babesia;
o -Q- Fever;
0 -Tularemia;
o -Tick-borne Encephalitis;
0 -Mycoplasma;
o -Relapsing Fever;
0 -Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and others.
Never WAIT and SEE about a tick bite, please! Quickly and properly treated infections are less likely to progress to later stage or chronic disease.
Sometimes tick bites are
mistaken for spider bites!
Some diseases may be spread by animal bites or scratches and from mosquitoes, fleas or lice.
There is still so much to learn about Lyme disease and related infections.
Sometimes Lyme disease and related infectious diseases are undiagnosed for years, even decades!
Watch closely for symptoms after tick bites. Some never see a tick or a bulls-eye rash.
Don't ignore tick-borne disease symptoms!
If you feel sick, ask a doctor!
SYMPTOMS may include:
0 -Tick bites;
o -Fever; Flu symptoms;
0 -All kinds of Rashes;
o -Muscle; Joint; Neck Pain;
0 -Body Aches; Weakness
o -Light /Sound Sensitivity;
0 -Bells Palsy; Nerve pain;
o -Insomnia; Poor memory
0 -Headaches; Numbness;
o -Mood disorders; Confusion;
0 -Extreme Fatigue; Exhaustion
Never let tick-borne diseases progress!
Lyme and associated diseases are often MISTAKEN FOR OTHER ILLNESSES, Including:
0 -Chronic Fatigue;
o -Fibromyalgia;
0 -Hypochondria;
o -Multiple Sclerosis;
0 -Lupus;
o -Rheumatoid Arthritis;
0 -Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS);
o -Alzheimer's and
0 -Parkinson's disease
******************
Don't be fooled about ticks and their diseases.
******************
Directly affecting humankind, worldwide:
W H A T H A P P E N E D
when the U.S. Senate addressed the Centers for Disease Control regarding Lyme disease?
Consult a good doctor!
Visit ILADS, LDF, LymeNet or LDA to find a specialist in your location.
Protect your children and your family.
Learn about ticks and their many diseases.
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TICK
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- TICKS KNOW NO BOUNDARIES -
Tick-borne diseases are spreading rapidly in many countries across the world -not only in Scandinavia, UK, Hungary, Scotland, USA, France, Germany, China, and Australia.
- ONE BIG PROBLEM WITH TESTS -
There is NO 100% accurate Lyme disease test currently available to detect infection or cure. more...
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Ticks can be found in and around leaf litter; grass; logs; animal fur; bird feeders; and deer, mice, squirrel, and other small animal habitats.
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- TICKS KNOW NO BOUNDARIES -
Tick-borne diseases are spreading rapidly in many countries across the world -not only in Scandinavia, UK, Hungary, Scotland, USA, France, Germany, China, and Australia.
- ONE BIG PROBLEM WITH TESTS -
There is NO 100% accurate Lyme disease test currently available to detect infection or cure. more...
- WHERE TICKS LIVE -
Ticks can be found in and around leaf litter; grass; logs; animal fur; bird feeders; and deer, mice, squirrel, and other small animal habitats.
- HOW TO REMOVE TICKS -
There is only one right way. Promptly and properly remove ticks to avoid infection. Here's how...
How
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Never let tick-borne
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Tick-borne diseases can
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of the body.
Lyme disease and Syphilis are both caused by a type of bacteria called a spirochete.
Tick-borne diseases can KILL!
Ticks travel on mice!
ALWAYS Get Ticks Tested!
Never let tick-borne
infections progress !
Tick-borne diseases can
affect any body part,
organ, and any system
of the body.
Lyme disease and Syphilis are both caused by a type of bacteria called a spirochete.
Tick-borne diseases can KILL!
Ticks travel on mice!
ALWAYS Get Ticks Tested!
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