Chronic Lyme Disease Or Postlyme Disease Syndrome
Following an episode of Lyme disease that is treated appropriately, some persons have a variety of subjective complaints . Some of these patients have been classified as having chronic Lyme disease or postLyme disease syndrome, which are poorly defined entities. These patients appear to be a heterogeneous group. Although European patients rarely have been reported to have residual infection with B. burgdorferi , this has yet to be substantiated either in a large series of appropriately treated European patients or in a study of North American patients. Residual subjective symptoms that last weeks or months also may persist after other medical diseases . It has also been recognized that the prevalence of fatigue and/or arthralgias in the general population is > 10% .
In areas of endemicity, coinfection with B. microti or the Ehrlichia species that causes HGE may explain persistent symptoms for a small number of these patients . Randomized controlled studies of treatment of patients who remain unwell after standard courses of antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease are in progress. To date, there are no convincing published data showing that repeated or prolonged courses of oral or iv antimicrobial therapy are effective for such patients. The consensus of the IDSA expert-panel members is that there is insufficient evidence to regard chronic Lyme disease as a separate diagnostic entity.
Remove Wormser From Federal Tbd Working Group
The federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group was established by 2016s 21st Century Cures Act. The goal was to bring together a diverse set of stakeholders, including treating physicians, researchers, patients, advocates and government officials to help inform federal policy regarding Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
Unfortunately, Dr. Gary Wormser was recently named to the group. Dr. Wormser has substantial conflicts of interests with lab companies and other commercial interests.
In a recent article he disclosed conflicts of interest with Immunetics, Inc. . The C6 Lyme test is known to be highly insensitive, yet the IDSA guidelines require positive lab tests in order for patients to be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease. This means that patients must obtain repeated blood tests to obtain positive results, which helps drive up the profits of testing companies such as Immunetics.
Dr. Wormser also discloses Lyme-related conflicts of interests with Abbott, Institute for Systems Biology, Rarecyte, Inc, and Quidel Corporation. He also has financial ties to insurance companies, who have paid him to testify in court against doctors who treat Lyme disease outside of the IDSA guidelines.
As chairman of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Lyme guidelines revision panel, Dr. Wormser was a defendant in the 2006 antitrust investigation of the IDSA by then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
Latest Infectious Disease News
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, March 30, 2016 — People with persistent symptoms associated with Lyme disease are unlikely to find relief from longer-term antibiotic therapy, according to a new Dutch study.
Although antibiotics are the correct therapy to treat Lyme disease when it is diagnosed early, longer-term use appears ineffective against the symptoms linked to the tick-borne illness and may carry the risk of side effects, the researchers said.
“Most patients with Lyme disease are cured after initial antibiotic therapy. But, up to 20 percent of patients report persistent symptoms, such as muscular or joint pain, fatigue or concentration problems, despite initial antibiotic therapy,” said study senior researcher Dr. Bart-Jan Kullberg. He is a professor of infectious diseases at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Treating these patients with longer courses of antibiotics has been controversial, Kullberg said. “Previous clinical trials have not shown that prolonged antibiotic treatment has beneficial effects in patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease. Nonetheless, the debate about this issue has continued,” he said.
The major conclusion from this new study is that three months of antibiotic therapy does not provide additional benefits to patients reporting persistent symptoms of pain, fatigue or mental confusion, he said.
“These patients need customized care, not just a prescription for antibiotics,” Kullberg said.
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Laboratory Diagnosis Treatment And Prophylaxis
Standard 2-tier and modified 2-tier algorithms for serodiagnosis of Lyme disease. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a standard 2-tier algorithm and the modified 2-tier algorithm . *For patients with signs or symptoms consistent with Lyme disease for < 30 days, the provider may treat and follow up with a convalescent-phase serum sample. Patients with erythema migrans should receive treatment on the basis of the clinical diagnosis. WB, Western blot.
Doctors And Scientists Discuss Chronic Lyme Beliefs
Experts around the world agree that chronic Lyme diagnosis and treatment is inappropriate. While there is substantial peer reviewed literature regarding the social phenomenon of chronic Lyme disease, there has been relatively little commentary accessible to the public.
Below are educational articles by doctors and scientists, presented for a lay audience. More commentaries are listed in our papers section.
Medical education for doctors and medical professionals can be found in our Lyme CME section.
Weve also gathered stories from former quacks who became advocates for science.
Dr. Lawrence Zemel, MD and Dr. Paul Auwaerter, MD:Treating chronic Lyme disease: Is it medical fraud?
Dr. Edward McSweegan, PhD:
Dr. Henry M. Feder, MD:Long-Term Lyme Disease Unsubstantiated
Dr. David Scales, MD:
Dr. Susan OConnell, Consultant Medical Microbiologist:Re: Lyme Wars
Dr. Steven Novella, MD:
- The Skeptics Guide to the Universe, episode 203
Dr. Mark Crislip, MD:
- as executive director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation
Dr. David Gorski, MD:
Dr. Dustin Ballard, MD:The Marriage of Contested Illnesses
Dr. Sam Telford, Sc.D:
Dr. Todd Gleeson, MD: Lyme Disease: Diagnosis and Management in Military Treatment Facilities
Dr. Mark Hoofnagle, MD:
Aaron Hentoff, MPH student:White Tears: Chronic Lyme Disease
Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, MD:
Dr. Julie Kardos, MD and Dr. Naline Lai, MD:Lyme disease: Its back
Dr. Henrik Vogt :
Dr. Mats Reimer :
Dr. Jarmo Oksi :
Recommended Reading: Early Symptoms Of Lyme Disease
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- Didn’t listen or answer questions
- Didn’t explain conditions well
- Didn’t trust the provider’s decisions
- Didn’t trust the provider’s decisions
- Didn’t listen or answer questions
- Didn’t explain conditions well
- Didn’t trust the provider’s decisions
Re: Seven Alternatives To Evidence Based Medicine
A handful of academics have called the shots regarding the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. We have a worldwide patient population living with a chronic relapsing infection with limited treatment options as mainstream medicine is following the so called evidence based medicine.
When evidence based medicine has been spun to fit bias agendas and the patient voice has been intentionally ignored who investigates the dishonest science?
Its all about the VACCINE
It has become blatantly obvious that the CDC will go to great lengths to insure that Lyme disease remains within its narrow definition in order to fit the vaccine model. Chronic Lyme does not fit any vaccine model.
The CDC has long known about the virulence and persistence of this spirochete focusing on a vaccine as the cure-all to this world wide epidemic. The late stage/chronic Lyme community has become collateral damage for a vaccine market in the course of a government sponsored initiative as Baxters phase III clinical trials are underway.
The CDC has aligned itself with institutions/researchers with a bias against persistent infection and has misused its authority by inappropriately allotting government funds to Mass General Hospital and New York Medical College as identified in the following communications. Read more.
A preventive vaccine for Lyme disease would not satisfy the FDA if a chronic persistent infection and seronegative disease exist.
Respectfully submitted,
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Find Out What’s Happening In Pleasantville
Dr. Wormser: Last year and now also this year the LDDC is by appointment only rather than as a walk-in clinic. However, appointments are readily available without the need to wait. The Clinic sees patients at night on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday every week during the period from June 1 through the end of August.
We have implemented additional measures in our Center to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff as concerns of COVID-19 still remain.
All patients will be required to wear masks and additional safety measures regarding COVID-19 will be discussed by telephone when the appointment is made.
Patch: Was there a difference in 2020 from 2019 in terms of the disease or treatment?
Dr. Wormser: The main issue was the potential delay in the diagnosis and treatment because of the thought that the patients tick-borne illness was instead COVID.
Patch: How common are long-term effects from Lyme?
Patch: Is anyone working on a vaccine?
Dr. Wormser: Very much so: Pfizer. The vaccine that is likely to enter into clinical trials fairly soon is a multivalent vaccine designed to prevent Lyme disease in both North America and Europe, but it’s not based on RNA.
Patch: Are you considering expanding the center’s focus to include other tick-borne diseases?
Dr. Wormser warns: early symptoms of Lyme disease may be mild and easily missed. They include:
Gary P Wormser From 301 79th St New York Ny 10021 Age
Guy WORMSER
· As I write this on Monday morning Dec 4 more than 8500 update: 10,000+ people have signed our petition to remove Dr Gary Wormser from the newly formed federal Tick-Borne Diseases Working Group which has its first meeting on Dec, 11,
Gary P, Wormser, M,D, is Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine at New York Medical College, He is Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Pharmacology,
Dr, Gary Wormser, MD is an infectious disease specialist in Hawthorne, New York, He is currently licensed to practice medicine in New York and California, He is affiliated with Westchester Medical Center and NYC Health + Hospitals / Metropolitan,
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Know The Symptoms So You Can Stay Safe
We’ve all know the warning to beware of ticks and Lyme disease in the summer. But how much do you really know about it? The more you understand about the bugs and the seriousness of the disease they can spread, the better you can protect yourself. Here’s what to know about contracting Lyme disease and seven little-known signs you have it.
Lyme disease experts, John Aucott, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, director of Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Clinical Research Center, and Gary Wormser, M.D., of New York Medical College, founder of Lyme Disease Diagnostic Center share what you need to know to safe.
She Learns New Things
Learning new things forces you to make new synapses in the brain, enhancing your cognitive reserve, Tanzi says.
Things like learning a new musical instrument, gardening, crocheting, or learning to dance, are all activities that can help keep patients in the present and active.
“You want to stop the brain from being in its default mode,” Tanzi says.
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She Follows A Mediterranean Diet
Sure, Dr. Oz’s mom lives in the Mediterranean, which makes it easier to eat well, but this is a diet that can be adopted no matter where you live.
A Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits, nuts, vegetables, olive oil, and alternative sources of protein such as fish, legumes, tofu, and mycoprotein from mushrooms. It’s also high in fiber and antioxidants and has been shown to reduce inflammation, Tanzi says.
Touched By Lyme: Update Of Our Protest About Dr Gary Wormser
As I write this on Monday morning, Dec. 4, more than 8500 people have signed our petition to remove Dr. Gary Wormser from the newly formed federal Tick-Borne Diseases Working Group, which has its first meeting on Dec. 11.
As previously reported, LymeDisease.org has protested Dr. Wormsers appointment, due to his serious financial conflicts of interest with companies that stand to gain from the panels decisions.
As LymeDisease.org President Phyllis Mervine wrote to Dr. Richard Wolitsky, the federal officer in charge of the Working Group:
Dr. Wormser has substantial conflicts of interests with lab companies and other commercial interests. In a recent article he disclosed conflicts of interest with Immunetics, Inc. . The C6 Lyme test is known to be highly insensitive, yet the IDSA guidelines require positive lab tests in order for patients to be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease. This means that patients must obtain repeated blood tests to obtain positive results, which helps drive up the profits of testing companies such as Immunetics.
Dr. Wormser also discloses Lyme-related conflicts of interests with Abbott, Institute for Systems Biology, Rarecyte, Inc, and Quidel Corporation. He also has financial ties to insurance companies, having served as an expert witness in court cases against doctors for treating Lyme disease outside of the IDSA guidelines
Best regards,
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Lyme Disease Patients File Federal Antitrust Suit Against Infectious Disease Specialists & Health Insurers
Health, entertainment and LGBT writer
Last Friday, 28 patients filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the Infectious Diseases Society of America, eight health insurance companies, and seven medical doctors, Courthouse News reported yesterday, because health insurers are denying coverage with bogus guidelines established by their paid consultants, who falsely say the disease can always be cured with a month of antibiotics.
Contrary to the often-reported claim that Lyme disease affects people almost exclusively from Washington, D.C. to New England, and in the Great Lakes region, the lawsuits plaintiffs represent a wide expanse of the United States, hailing from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Texas.*
Among the lawsuits allegations:
In the 1990s, the Insurance Defendants decided that treatment of Lyme disease was too expensive and red-flagged Lyme disease. The health insurance industry made a concerted effort to deny coverage for treatment of Lyme disease. The Insurance Defendants enlisted the help of doctors who were researching, not treating, Lyme disease. The Insurance Defendants paid these IDSA Panelists large fees and together they developed arbitrary guidelines for testing Lyme disease.
The lawsuit names a number of medical doctors, all representatives of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Among them are:
IDSA Guidelines, Specialists Promoted by Many Medial Organizations
Clinicians Clash Over New Lyme Disease Guidelines
That confusion now has spread to its treatment, with physicians locked in a fierce debate over how long the course of antibiotics needed to kill the infection should last.
The Infectious Disease Society of America came up with new guidelines in November, stating that “95 percent of cases of Lyme disease are cured with 10 to 28 days of oral antibiotics.”
The guidelines also strongly object to the use of antibiotics in patients beyond 30 days, since long-term antibiotic treatment can cause drug resistance and create other medical risks.
But a substantial number of doctors and patients are arguing against the guidelines, saying that chronic cases of the infection require antibiotic treatment for much longer than one month.
About 20,000 Americans contract Lyme disease every year, said Dr. Gary Wormser, the infection disease specialist who chaired the panel that created the new guidelines.
Lyme disease has been reported in nearly all states, but more than 98 percent of all cases are found in coastal New England and the mid-Atlantic states, as well as Wisconsin, Minnesota and northern California.
The IDSA last updated its guidelines in 2001. The new guidelines represent the latest in scientific knowledge about Lyme disease, Wormser said.
“Indeed, such prolonged antibiotic therapy is not only not beneficial but also places the patient at risk for serious adverse effects from the antibiotics, some of which can be life-threatening,” Wormser added.
More information
Recommended Reading: Lyme Disease Types Of Ticks
Here Are The Tools She Uses To Help Manage The Progression Of The Disease
When Dr. Oz found out in September 2019 that his mom, Suna, then 81, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, he was gutted. He wondered how he missed the signs and what he could do next. Like so many caregivers, he had to recognize that his mom was not going to get better. But he also knew that he wasn’t alone: There is an Alzheimer’s diagnosis every 65 seconds.
Dr. Oz immediately contacted his friends and colleagues and crafted a treatment plan with two of the country’s top experts in the field: Richard S. Isaacson, MD, a neurologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and the founder of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic, and Dr. Rudy Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard and the founder of the “Alzheimer’s Genome Project,” who co-discovered the first Alzheimer’s gene.
“When loved ones are diagnosed, take a deep breath,” Tanzi says. “Alzheimer’s is a challenging condition and the only way you can help is to create a plan of action.”
Here is Dr. Oz’s mom’s science-backed regimen for which he hopes will help to slow down and manage the disease’s progression.
Should Patients Infected With Borrelia Burgdorferi No Longer Be Referred To As Having Lyme Disease
- Gary P. WormserCorrespondenceRequests for reprints should be addressed to Gary P. Wormser, MD, Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, 40 Sunshine Cottage Road, Skyline Office #2N-E14, Valhalla, NY 10595.
Arthritis Rheum.Arthritis Rheum.Ann Intern Med.N Engl J Med.
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Borrelia mayoniiBorrelia burgdorferiInt J Syst Evol Microbiol.
borreliaB burgdorferiB burgdorferiborrelia
- Shapiro ED
Clin Infect Dis.The Effective Clinician: His Methods and Approach to Diagnosis and Care
JAMA.
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Ann Intern Med.
Candida albicansN Engl J Med.
B burgdorferiB burgdorferiBabesia microtiBartonella henselae.N Engl J Med.Am J Med.Lancet Infect Dis.Am J Med.Am J Med.Am J Med.Am J Med.Am J Med.
Lancet Infect Dis.Am J Med.Am J Med.
B burgdorferiAm J Med.
Lyme diseaseB burgdorferiB burgdorferi
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