New Lyme disease guidelines prompt patient protests

[Guest guest]

" surpassed 3,000

for the first time last year " ,,,, sounds like an experiment ...

UK Indymedia - US Govt Admits Lyme Disease a Bioweapon This is the first

admission by a US government body that Lyme disease is a biological warfare

.... NIH also admits they study Lyme as a Bioweapon - Lymerayja ...

www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/11/328067.html - 35k - Cached - Similar

pages

 

 

UK Indymedia - Lyme Disease is a Biowarfare Issue Lyme Disease is

massively underdiagnosed in the UK, and sufferers are ... a bio-weapon

should act quickly before the 'enemy' realise what has been done. ...

www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/10/354307.html?c=on - 69k - Cached -

Similar pages

[ More results from www.indymedia.org.uk ]

 

 

Lyme Disease a Bioweapon - Above Top Secret Conspiracy Community This thread

was about the possibility of lyme disease being a bio-weapon. ... Lyme

disease might not be a bio-weapon, however how do you know it has been ...

www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread188837/pg1 - 51k - Cached - Similar

pages

 

 

Agroterrorism Anthrax and Bioterrorism - News Review Reports Bioterrorism

and Germ Weapons - USA Army Field Manual Treatment of ... Malaria, TB, Pox,

Smallpox, Anthrax, Vaccines, Lyme Disease, Rabies, West Nile Virus, ...

www.pighealth.com/diseases/anthrax.htm - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

 

 

-

" Bill Kingsbury " <b.b.bb

 

Saturday, November 04, 2006 5:40 PM

New Lyme disease guidelines prompt patient

protests

 

 

 

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1162535614121120.xml & coll=1

 

 

New Lyme disease guidelines prompt patient protests

 

BY ANGELA STEWART - Star-Ledger Staff

Friday, November 03, 2006

 

New guidelines that discount the existence of a chronic form

of Lyme disease and discourage long-term antibiotic treatment

are stirring up controversy about how best to manage the

tick-borne illness.

 

The guidelines also recommend against combining antibiotics to

treat the disease, in addition to giving a thumbs-down to

experimental or alternative therapies -- things like

hyperbaric oxygen therapy and vitamins/nutritional supplements.

 

Members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which

wrote the new guidelines, contend they are based on the best

scientific evidence available. The Alexandria, Va.-based

society represents physicians, scientists and other health

care professionals. The guidelines were published in the Oct.

2 issue of the Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

 

" These guidelines are based on more than 25 years of

(clinical) experience and scientific studies ... unproven and

experimental therapies are not endorsed, " said Eugene D.

Shapiro, a professor at Yale University School of Medicine who

helped draft the guidelines.

 

But some Lyme patients and advocacy groups, as well as

doctors, said those suffering from the disease will be harmed.

 

" They remind me of the Ten Commandments. They are full of

'Thou Shalt Nots,' " said Jeannine Phillips, 56, of East

Brunswick, who heads LymeQuest, a local support and advocacy

group.

 

The Jackson-based Lyme Disease Association Inc., a national

patient education and advocacy organization, has started a

petition drive on its Web site (www.LymeDiseaseAssociation.org)

to protest the guidelines. More than 9,000 signatures have

been collected, as have many personal stories.

 

For instance, there are reports from other states of

pharmacists refusing to fill antibiotic prescriptions for

patients, Phillips said.

 

The standard course of antibiotic treatment for Lyme is three

to four weeks, but some patients end up being treated well

beyond that, in some cases for months or years.

 

" One person had their insurance company deny treatment because

the guidelines do not recognize Lyme can be a chronic

disease, " said Pat Smith, who heads the association.

" These (guidelines) are absolutely devastating. "

 

Lyme disease is transmitted by a tick bite and is sometimes

characterized by a round, red lesion with a bull's-eye

appearance. People who are bitten may experience joint pain

and flu-like symptoms, such as muscle aches, fever and fatigue.

 

If left untreated, the bacteria can cause heart palpitations,

arthritis, severe joint pain and swelling, short-term memory

loss and chronic neurological problems.

 

The number of Lyme disease cases in New Jersey surpassed 3,000

for the first time last year, making the Garden State third in

the nation for reported Lyme cases.

 

Shapiro, a professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and

investigative medicine at Yale, said more than 95 percent of

those who get Lyme respond to a short course of antibiotic

treatment.

 

" If there was evidence that prolonged antibiotic treatment was

beneficial, I would jump right on the bandwagon, " he said.

 

If kept on antibiotic therapy too long, patients developing

antibiotic resistance or even infection from intravenous

lines, he said.

 

Shapiro said the new guidelines, which address treatment at

different stages of the disease, provide " plenty of room for

clinical judgment, " are meant to assist doctors, not dictate

to them.

 

Because Lyme symptoms can be very nonspecific and in some

cases mimic other diseases, such as multiple sclerosis,

diagnosis can be difficult. This is especially true in cases

that lack the identifying rash or for which there is no

positive blood test.

 

And when it comes to chronic Lyme, the new guidelines contend

" there is no convincing biologic evidence " to support its

existence in patients who have been appropriately treated with

recommended antibiotic therapy.

 

Officials at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

called it " rare " that antibiotic therapy -- either orally or

intravenously -- would be necessary for more than four weeks.

 

" This is the period of coverage defined in our policy, " said

Stanley E. Harris, Horizon's senior medical director.

 

That may be so, but expect patient suffering to increase, as

it will be hard to find doctors willing to treat them, others

contend.

 

" If a disease can be so controversial, how can any guidelines

be rigid or accepted as the standard of care? " asked Robert C.

Bransfield, a Red Bank psychiatrist who sees many late-state

patients suffering from depression, fatigue and cognitive

impairment. " They are a step backward. "

 

Other doctors, however, say they welcome the additional

direction the guidelines provide.

 

" I personally think they are on the money, " said Jerome

Levine, chief of the Infectious Disease Division at

Hackensack University Medical Center.

 

 

Angela Stewart covers health care. She may be reached at

astewart or (973) 392-4178.

 

 

© 2006 The Star Ledger

 

© 2006 NJ.com .

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»

 

 

§ - PULSE ON WORLD HEALTH CONSPIRACIES! §

 

Subscribe:......... -

 

«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»

Other like groups:

 

MedicalConspiracies

 

Subscribe: MedicalConspiracies-

Post message: MedicalConspiracies

List owner: MedicalConspiracies-owner

 

«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»

 

1400 Member Group: MedicalConspiracies (One Word)at Google groups:

 

http://groups.google.comMedicalConspiracies

 

Post message: MedicalConspiracies (AT) googl (DOT) com

Subscribe: MedicalConspiracies- (AT) googl (DOT) com

 

«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»

 

Any information here in is for educational purpose only, it may be news

related, purely speculation or someone's opinion. Always consult with a

qualified health practitioner before deciding on any course of treatment,

especially for serious or life-threatening illnesses.

**COPYRIGHT NOTICE**

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107,

any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without

profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving

the included information for non-profit research and educational purposes

only. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml