Strain-based immunity?

Strain-based immunity? This news article highlights results from a study exploring whether people exposed to a particular strain of Lyme disease are immune to that strain for any length of time. The news article gives a nice layman's summary of the research article. The main result is that it seems statistically more likely that the …

Lyme disease cases skyrocket [in Pittsburgh]

Lyme disease cases skyrocket [in Pittsburgh] Thank goodness the press is paying some attention (again) to what's going on with Lyme disease in the area. Maybe it will help one or two more people think twice before they dismiss unusual symptoms. If only the reporter had also talked about how to prevent tick bites, or …

Evidence of a distinct post-treatment condition in humans makes Discover’s top 100

Evidence of a distinct post-treatment condition in humans makes Discover's top 100  “At least now we know we’re not just speculating about the differences between chronic fatigue syndrome and post-treatment Lyme.” ----- EDIT: I posted this before reading the original article (sorry!) and misunderstood the Discover article. There are "biomarkers" that persist post treatment, but …

Strong Evidence of Lyme Persistence in Monkeys

A recent study (2012) proved the persistence of Bb (Lyme) in Rhesus Monkeys. The researchers waited 27 weeks after infection in their first experiment, which is all I'll discuss here, and then tested with multiple methods. The Eliza declined in treated animals, which might be interpreted to say treatment worked. However, in fact, spirochetal DNA …

[Link Out] Views of Lyme

I just had to share this great image -- it certainly lightened my world a little today :).

[Link out] How to be sick

I happened upon a nice blog post recently -- 11 tips I've learned from 11 years sick by Toni Bernhard, JD. Here's a nice quote: I’ve discovered that it’s okay to feel emotions that appear to contradict each other.... [I can] be terribly disappointed but content with my life at the same time. My current disappointment …

IDSA guidelines called into question

The IDSA guidelines are the primary guidelines supporting the belief that post-lyme or chronic lyme does not exist. It is interesting to see the process by which those guidelines were constructed brought into question. They were last revised in 2006. Will this lead to more controversy or a more balanced view point? Here's a news …

My read on the lyme wars

I've sort of been putting off writing this post because it's a difficult and controversial topic... and I'm sure I will write many more on this topic... but for now, here are my thoughts on the medical disagreement plaguing patients with lyme disease. This is a very long post and only begins to scratch the …