Is There a Link between Lyme Disease and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

[Guest guest]

_http://aboutmecfs.org/Rsrch/MethyLyme.pdf_

(http://aboutmecfs.org/Rsrch/MethyLyme.pdf)

 

Is There a Link between Lyme Disease and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

 

by Richard A. Van Konynenburg, Ph.D.

 

9th International IACFS/ME Conference

Reno, Nevada

March 12-15, 2009

 

 

Summary

 

A link has been hypothesized between Lyme disease and chronic

fatigue syndrome (CFS).

This link is based on the Glutathione Depletion—Methylation Cycle Block

(GD-MCB)

hypothesis for CFS [6].

 

The GD-MCB hypothesis proposes that in a person who is

genomically predisposed, stressors that place demands on

glutathione can cause it to become depleted, and can lead to a partial

block in the methylation cycle. The resulting vicious circle interaction

maintains CFS as a chronic condition.

 

The present paper suggests

that Lyme disease is one of the stressors that can produce this

vicious circle interaction in the body of a person who is genomically

predisposed. It is suggested that this leads to chronic Lyme disease.

 

If the Borrelia bacteria are subsequently eliminated by treatment, the

patient then has post-Lyme disease syndrome. Post-Lyme disease

syndrome is one of the post-infective fatigue syndromes, a category

of disorders within chronic fatigue syndrome [25]. A commercial test

panel is available to test this hypothesis [26], and treatment to lift the

methylation cycle block and to restore glutathione is available [7] if

these are found to be present.