Lyme-Induced Autism Conference Focuses on Biofilm and Toxicity

[Guest guest]

Lyme-Induced Autism Conference Focuses on Biofilm and Toxicity

by Mary Budinger

 

 

 

* Peeking into the secret world of biofilm and shifting through common

environmental toxins may hold the keys to understanding the current epidemic

of chronic disease.*

 

That was the theme at the third annual Lyme-Induced Autism (LIA)

Conference held last month in Scottsdale, AZ. The event serves as a think tank

for

practitioners and parents on the forefront of the epidemic.

 

Biofilm - The Hot Topic

 

The quest to understand biofilm is changing the paradigm of blood

pathology. The conventional wisdom is that blood is sterile because nothing can

be

cultured from it, but clearly, we have pathogens floating around in blood.

" Blood is not sterile. We have to drop that idea, " said Dr. Jeff Wulfman of

Vermont. " Forty percent of blood samples contain cell wall deficient

bacteria. What are the other factors in blood? We are only beginning to

understand. "

 

Biofilm is also in the blood, as well as the gut and on the teeth. Biofilm

is a self-made protective environment in which microbial populations hide

from the body's immune system and anti-microbial therapies. Biofilm allows

the bugs to evade surveillance of the immune system and our best attempt to

throw antibiotics at them. Biofilm communities can be 1000 times more

resistant to antibiotics than free-floating bacteria. Ever tried and failed to

knock out candida with the anti-candida diet? Well, candida too hides in

the biofilm where it helps the bad guys by stimulating inflammation. The

National Institutes of Health estimates that nearly 80 percent of chronic

microbial infections are due to biofilm colonies.

 

Teasing out elements hidden in blood is what Dr. Stephen Fry and his

colleagues do at Fry Labs in Scottsdale, Arizona. **I don't think Borrelia is

the main problem in Lyme disease,** Dr. Fry explained. **We only have one

picture of it in the thousands of slides that have gone through our lab. There

is something else that stains like bacteria, and looks like bacteria, in

people who are sick. Many of the people we see have evidence of biofilm.

There is more than one pathogen in biofilm communities, but the microorganism

we are mapping now may be the main concern.**

 

Dr. Fry finds that the sicker a person is, the more there will be biofilm

communities in the blood sample. **Six years ago, I established Fry

Laboratories to begin to identify the DNA of a particular pathogen we see in the

biofilm. We looked at the blood from various patients under the microscope

and found signs of this particular microorganism in many samples from

patients ill with chronic Lyme disease. So far, we have found some unique genes

that make up this microorganism; no other entity on earth is known to possess

them.**

 

Dr. Fry thinks the day is not far off when we may recognize a single

microorganism which hides itself in biofilm, and is responsible for symptoms of

Lyme disease, its co-infections, and many other expressions of chronic

disease. **As our work progresses, we will be able to further identify the

genetic makeup of this pathogen and then develop a reliable test for it,** he

said. **It may be that we can develop a simple protocol to knock it out.**

 

But if one bug is the cause of Lyme disease, autism, and so much other

chronic disease, why do patients get so many different diagnoses and symptoms?

** In the biofilm community, there is a soup where many pathogens hide,**

Dr. Fry said. ** For example, just about everybody over the age of 35 will

test positive for Epstein-Barr virus, but people usually are not sick from

it. Not every bug in the biofilm soup is causing symptoms. We think we*ve

found that one is. And the symptoms may vary based upon a person*s genetics,

environment, and pathogen genotype.**

 

Dr. Fry's take on biofilms is novel. ** I could be barking up the wrong

tree, but maybe not. Remember that we used to think stomach ulcers were

caused by too much acid production. Then Barry Marshall and Dr. Robin Warren

turned medical dogma on its head by proving that a bacterium was the cause.

The pair identified the bacterium H. pylori and proved how it causes

inflammation, then ulcers. Maybe in 10 years we will be smart enough to know

that

the *auto* in *autoimmune* actually means pathogen and the whole concept of

autoimmunity will change. Chronic inflammation is chronic infection. In

autoimmune disease, my model is that there is a chronic infection that cannot

be eliminated, thus the immune system is always switched on. The self

antibodies are due to apoptosis and death of host cells with host immune

response.**

 

Biofilms are also of great interest to Dr. Anju Usman of Illinois. **All

of our tough cases, the non responders - they show biofilms when we run

their blood at Fry's lab,** she explained. **Scientists are finding biofilms in

polluted areas of our body - the teeth, mouth, adenoids, sinuses, and

intestinal tract. The immune system recognizes a bug by proteins on its outer

membrane. What happens when the bugs don*t produce outer membrane proteins?

Well, these bugs don't.** Biofilms act as a unique cloaking device.

 

Dr. Usman is focused on dismantling the biofilm. **Let*s look at what

happened when experts tackled the superbug, MRSA. One of the most effective

drugs against MRSA is vancomycin. But they couldn*t knock it out because there

was a biofilm. However, when they combined the drug with EDTA, then the

chelating agent pulled out the calcium, magnesium, and iron - all elements of

biofilm - and dismantled the film.**

 

That raises the question of what supplements and nutrients may

inadvertently feed the biofilm. ** When trying to kill bugs, if you take

calcium, you

may not be making headway,** Usman said. **Calcium, iron, and magnesium

block our efforts to dismantle the biofilm.**

 

Dr. Usman uses EDTA to open up the biofilm. EDTA, ethylenediaminetetr

aacetic acid, is a chelating agent used to lower one*s body burden of heavy

metals. Another important resource is iron chelating compounds. **Outer

membrane proteins** are easy for drugs to see, but they are not expressed when

iron is present. **Our bodies make proteins, transferrin and lactoferrin,

which mop up iron and block the ability of biofilm to form,** she said.

**But pathogenic bacteria secrete iron chelators to snatch up iron and thus

compete with the transferrin and lactoferrin for what they need to survive.**

 

 

To break down biofilm, Dr. Usman also uses enzymes such as serrapeptase,

derived from silk worms, and nattokinase which penetrates the GI tract and

gets into the blood where it breaks down fibrin. Biofilm requires formation

of fibrin. Probiotics and synbiotics - a combination of pre- and

pro-biotics - crowd out bad bacteria, and also help disrupt biofilm along the

mucus

membrane.

 

**When the film opens up, we do not know what is under there, and the

immune system may not know what is under there, so you might get sick,** Usman

said. **And it is not always about killing the bugs. It is more important

to change the gastrointestinal environment so the bugs don't grow.**

 

Secrets of the Inner Gut Terrain

 

Unquestionably, changes are taking place in the invisible interior of our

bodies.

 

**In the international community, scientists talk about the impact of the

chemicals as global warming, yet we do not admit that there is a sea of

change also taking place in the human bodies,** said Donna Jackson Nakazawa,

author of the Autoimmune Epidemic. **We have removed our kids from

naturally dirty environments and we are undereducating their immune system.

Then

we fill their environment with all kinds of chemical agents. Our immune

system diseases are going up because our immune system competency is going

down.**

 

We know the fetus becomes a dumping ground for the mother*s toxins. If mom

has mercury fillings, for example, much of the mercury stored in her body

will be downloaded to the fetus. Plastics, pesticides, and other toxins are

also downloaded. So today*s children are polluted at birth and exposed to a

daily chemical onslaught from their environment and their food. The amount

of metals in our bodies today is thought to be about 20,000 times higher

than ancient man. Heavy metals play a role in all manner of disease behavior

from chronic inflammation to infections to biofilm. **We know everyone

born today has 1000 times more lead in their bones,** said Dr. Garry Gordon

of Arizona. **As the mother creates a fetus, the calcium from the mom is

used to make bones in the fetus but the lead is in the bones and it is

downloaded too.**

 

Organic farmers can teach us a lot about human health, as Dr. Wulfman

discovered. **What shows up when there is poor soil, inadequate water, etc., is

infection. The weaker the organism, the more vulnerable it is to a virus,

bacteria, parasite - whatever. Whether we are sick or well depends upon how

strong we are in relation to the pathogenic load within us. So we need to

reconsider our original thoughts about 'infections. ' Children on the

autistic spectrum are 16 times more likely to have bacterial/viral infections

than non-autistic children. I believe 100 percent of the kids on the spectrum

have fungal involvement. About 80% show it on the blood smear.**

 

Toxins and infections drastically alter genes, and those alterations, we

have now found, are passed down several generations. The chemical bisphenol

A (BPA) that is in plastic drinking bottles and the lining of cans has been

found to cause an epigenic change in mice from lean to obese. A 2003 study

out of China on tuberculosis (TB) found cells infected with TB organisms

changed 463 new expressions of genes. The emerging field of epigenetics

tells us that the level of expression by each gene is influenced by external

factors. Also, genetic expression affects the individual now alive and the

next several generations to come. Dr. Wulfman asks a telling question: **So,

in a genetically susceptible individual, are the gene changes a cause of

dysfunction - or a marker of the underlying factors that caused the genetic

changes?**

 

Good question. And what is so much chronic disease doing to the gene pool?

 

Our Toxic Diet

 

Jeffery Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, warns

that to eat genetically modified (GM) foods is to play genetic roulette with

your health and the generations who follow you. **Dr. Arpad Pusztai looked

at the first GM food, potatoes, and found all kinds of abnormalities, **

Smith reported. **He was fired from his job and his 20-person research team

was disbanded, but his data was subsequently published in Lancet and it

clearly shows the process of genetic modification is unstable. The process of

insertion and cloning produces unexpected changes in the DNA. The RNA,

proteins, phytochemicals and other natural compounds in plants are affected.**

 

A primary concern is that many GM crops have an insecticide spliced into

their genetic makeup. That insecticide subsequently sets up housekeeping in

our intestines. **GM corn and soy puts a pesticide in the gut and it

replicates,** Dr. Gordon clarified. **GM foods modify your intestinal flora

and

that sets the stage for tumors and other problems, we've seen that

evidence. No probiotic will overcome it.**

 

The primary source of calories consumed in America today is GM corn syrup.

White flour is a strong second. Our bodies see them both as sugar, and

people with Lyme, autism, and other chronic diseases absolutely crave it.

 

**You crave starch and sugar because you don*t need much to digest them,**

said Dr. Toby Watkinson of California. **There is so much mucus in the

intestinal tract, you can*t get much absorption. Ever pour water on an egg

white? It runs right off. Same principal.**

 

For busy parents, it can be a real challenge to break the habit of

convenience foods. Too often, parents make the switch to gluten free (GF)

foods,

but still don't make the switch to the more important nutrient dense foods.

 

Dr. Wulfman asks parents to keep a weekly diet history. He presented one

diary: GF pancakes 2 times that week, GF cereal 5 times, GF cookies 3 times,

GF chicken nuggets 4 times, GF granola/rice bars 8 times, and 2 bananas.

**Except for the bananas, there is still no real food in it!** Wulfman

advocates complex, living food. **We have a mineral famine going on. There is a

nutritional famine. Vitamin D levels are so low that rickets is back.**

 

Dr. Wulfman advocates learning how to simply grow food in our backyards.

Mineralize the soil, use heirloom seed varieties. Square Food Gardening by

Mel Bartholomew is a good how-to book. See _www.westonaprice_

(http://www.westonaprice) . org for more on nutrient-dense food.

 

Dysfunctional Inner Computer

 

The computer runs our automobiles today. So too the human body. Except the

human computer - the mind - often is not working right and the bugs are

expert at even commandeering even our thoughts.

Parasites love sugar and Dr. Wulfman says the parasites have mind control

over us to make us deliver it. **Mice run away from cats; that is

instinctive. But if infected with toxoplasmosis, the mouse will come right up

to the

cat. It is amazing what parasites can do.**

 

While the bugs direct our thoughts from the inside, outside forces play

havoc with the brain*s ability to function properly.

Dr. Watkinson starts new patient relationships by asking if their

environment has been checked for electromagnetic fields (EMF). **I have Wi-Fi

blocking paint and film in my office,** he said. **Our brains are electric.

Some people can*t compute because of the electrical interference in the

environment and we see there is always within their immune system a Th1, Th2,

Th3

disruption. EMF makes for a lack of connectivity between different

portions of the brain, more so in some people than in others.**

See _www.buildingbiology_ (http://www.buildingbiology) .net for materials

that block EMF.

 

Traditional has long taught that the body is electricity.

**If you do not have energy, the heart cannot pump,** said Dr. Y.M. Chen

of Arizona. **It is important that every organ in the body is balanced.**

 

The issue of chaotic energy in our environment - electrosmog - is gaining

greater importance and understanding. Bau biologist Vicki Warren of

Tennessee detailed that the greatest danger to all of us from the man-made

energy

in our daily environment comes at night, when the body does most of its

detoxifying.

 

** The heart, the brain, and all the cells communicate with electric

signals,** Warren explained. **When there is a constant pulsing signal as you

get from the *Energy Star* appliances, cell phones, Wi-Fi networks and more,

the cells' receptors begin to mimic the frequency of that pulsing signal.

Then the DNA within the cell has to interpret that vibration to decide

whether it is a communication it understands or it is something foreign. If

foreign, then the cell thinks it is under attack and closes its *doors* which

means nutrients don*t get in, and toxins don*t get out. The medical term is

oxidative stress. At night when we are sleeping and the organs detoxify,

it is essential that the cell membrane be permeable. Live blood cell tests

show the biological response. Because the cells are not releasing the

toxins, you get a free radical buildup and DNA repair is disrupted. This is the

path for the development of tumors associated with cell phone usage. Johnny

Cochran and his doctor were convinced cell phone use was the cause of his

cancer. Also, melatonin production is suppressed in a high EMF environment.

Melatonin is also neuro-protective and helps to protect from damage

otherwise caused by mercury.**

 

The power industry and telecommunication lobbyists make proof hard to nail

down. It is impossible to find a control group for a study because you

cannot find people who have not been exposed to electromagnetic fields and

radio frequencies. **Serious and knowledgeable working scientists no longer buy

the industry argument that there is no credible scientific evidence,** she

said. **Robert Becker, Wertheimer and George Carlo blew the whistle on

industry claims of safety. Even the World Health Organization says *prudent

avoidance* is advised where cell phone and Wi-Fi is concerned.**

 

Check out _www.antennasearch_ (http://www.antennasearch.org) .org

to find out how many cell phone antennas are close to where you live and

work.

As for cell phone usage, Warren said if you use 500 minutes a month or

more, the body probably cannot recover from that. Text messaging, ironically,

is safe because all the data is transmitted in a fraction of a second,

whereas phone conversations go on for many minutes. Ditch the cordless phones,

or at least keep the main base station far away from the bedroom. She

advises that parents not use wireless baby monitors because they transmit 24

hours a day, 7 days a week.

Dr. Lee Cowden, a proponent of EMF safety, points out that microwave

illness is identical to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and autism and that the

incidence of CFS and autism have grown in tandem with the installation of

digital cell phone towers. ** Is this the smoking gun?** he asks.

 

Several times at the conference, speakers touched on the more subtle,

personal energies as well. The vibration of the emotion that the parents hold

about their children is important for healing. If you bring chaos and

frustration to the dinner table, you pass it on. Remember why you love your

child

and express that joy - it*s contagious.

 

Within Your Reach

 

Regardless of the diagnosis. and even if we aren*t symptomatic for Lyme or

autism, we need to do more to strengthen our inner terrain and lessen the

body*s exposure to outside toxins.

 

- Go green at home. Typical home cleaning products pollute the air.

- Shop for non-GM foods.

- Grow your own vegetables. Increase your nutritional intake with organic

and grass-fed foods.

- Stop telling yourself it is okay to buy processed food because you don't

have time.

- Having a baby? Don't put the nursery in the home office next to all the

electrical devices and beware of VOC paints and new carpets that off-gas

toxic chemicals.

- Learn about formaldehyde - it is in books, toilet paper, paper towels,

particle board furniture, and more.

- Switch from toxic pesticides to non-toxic diatomaceous earth.

- Read up on mold in the home.

- Make sure gas appliances are vented to the outside.

- Reduce dust mites - mites require humidity of 50% or greater to grow. If

there is sweat or humidity on the bed when it is made, dust mites grow.

Let a bed air out at least 15 minutes in the morning before you make it. Put

pillows occasionally in sun light and let the solar rays clean them. Be

careful of stuffed animals; they become dust mite havens.

- Open your windows every day because the inside air is almost always

worse than the air outside.

- To reduce EMF, use a battery clock next to bed instead of one that is

plugged in.

- Unplug the household wireless computer system at night.

- Keep TVs at least six feet away from the bed.

- Consider EMF blocking paints and films.

Create a *sleeping sanctuary* free of EMF (see _www.wehliving_

(http://www.wehliving.org) .org

).

 

These kinds of things - and more - we can generally control. When we

reduce the stresses on the body, the healthy among us have more energy to be

caretakers. And those we are taking care of need us to eliminate as many

environmental stresses as we can for them so they can heal.

 

--

 

Mary Budinger is an Emmy award-winning journalist and a writer for

Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The LIA Foundation has copies of the

conference syllabus,

_www.liafoundation.org_ (http://www.liafoundation.org)