PALO ALTO, CALIF. - August 25, 2003 -
The evidence is now piling too high to be ignored. Lyme
disease is proving to be far more widespread - and far
more devastating - than previously believed by the medical
establishment. The often misdiagnosed tick-borne pathogen
is causing a wide variety of physical and mental conditions
with life-threatening symptoms, and evidence is growing
that Lyme can be transmitted from person to person, both
sexually and pre-natally.
The Centers for Disease Control recorded 19,000 cases
of Lyme nationwide in 2002, but the CDC also says that
the actual number of cases may be ten times higher. Experts
believe 90 percent of Lyme cases are missed because either
the physicians or the tests employed are insufficiently
sophisticated. Most doctors are taught to look for the
tell-tale "bulls-eye" rash produced by Lyme-infected
tick bites, but that rash appears in less than half of
all Lyme infections, and many patients don't even recall
being bitten. And the individual Lyme tests usually conducted
by physicians are less than reliable.
"We recently detected Lyme in 97 new patients,"
said Dr. Nick Harris, CEO of IgeneX, a Lyme testing lab
in Palo Alto. "During the same time period, the CDC
reported only 34 cases of Lyme in California. Most labs
utilize insufficient Lyme tests and the CDC need to change
its testing criteria to accept the more advanced results
that labs like ours provide."
Lyme typically announces itself with flu-like symptoms,
headaches, fatigue, swollen joints and muscle pain. Even
when Lyme is properly diagnosed, it is often improperly
treated. Three to four weeks of antibiotics is the standard
treatment, but the Lyme pathogen can survive that brief
course of treatment by "hiding" in the cells
and body tissues. The International Lyme and Associated
Disease Society (ILADS), a medical organization dedicated
to Lyme research and awareness, now recommends six to
eight weeks of antibiotics to prevent the tough infection
from coming back.
If not dealt with promptly, Lyme can become a chronic
and disabling disease. 39-year-old Charise Ott of Orange
County, California contracted Lyme eight years ago and
repeatedly tested positive for the disease, but was told
by eleven different doctors that she didn't have it. By
the time she was properly diagnosed and treated, the damage
was done. Ott now suffers from serious cardiac problems
and irreparable retinal damage that may lead to blindness.
And her eight-year-old son was recently diagnosed with
Lyme she passed on to him during childbirth. Both are
finally under long-term antibiotic treatment.
Some experts have believed for several years that many
cases of arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple
sclerosis are actually misdiagnosed manifestations of
Lyme disease. But the neurological devastation of Lyme
is now also considered a possible cause of many mental
illnesses, including clinical depression, manic-depressive
syndrome, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and uncontrollable
rages. A recent European study shows that psychiatric
in-patients are nearly twice as likely as the average
population to test positive for Lyme, and the National
Institutes of Health is currently sponsoring a major study
of neuropsychiatric Lyme disease in an effort to illuminate
specific changes in the brain.
"Lyme disease is like an injury of the brain,"
said Robert Bransfield, MD, a psychiatrist in Red Bank,
New Jersey. "Lyme disease often strikes an entire
families and the result is a higher incidence of divorce,
family dysfunction, and domestic violence. Patients are
less able to think things through, and tend to act impulsively.
A mother may suddenly lash out at her child and a husband
may lose control and abuse his wife."
Bransfield says young people are the most likely to act
out. "I've seen so many straight A kids whose grades
suddenly start to slip. Then they rebel against the family
and start fighting with their peers. However, these kids
generally improve after treatment with antibiotics."
"Lyme produces a microedema, or swelling in the brain,"
said Bernard Raxlen, MD, an ILADS expert. "This affects
your ability to process information. It's like finding
out that there's LSD in the punch, and you're not sure
what's going to happen next or if you're going to be in
control of your own thoughts."
Physicians nationwide describe business executives, attorneys,
realtors, honor roll students and parents who suddenly
are unable to function normally because of confusion,
disorientation, loss of concentration and severe anxiety.
Symptoms vary in intensity, and stress is a key trigger
factor. Family problems, job losses or illnesses can send
Lyme patients into emotional crisis.
"My patients come in to talk about their marital
problems and are surprised to learn that they are linked
to an organic illness," says Virginia Sherr, MD,
a psychiatrist in Lyme-prone eastern Pennsylvania. Ninety
percent of Sherr's patients test positive for Lyme disease.
ILADS physicians say these symptoms can be alleviated
or reversed with long-term oral or intravenous antibiotic
treatment, but stress the importance of early diagnosis
and treatment.
