Most Excellent Lyme Info???

From: Rita Stanley (rlstanley_at_comcast.net)
Date: 08/17/04 

Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:44:43 GMT

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MOST EXCELLENT LYME INFO - TOWNSEND LETTER

Posted By: Daystar <Send E-Mail>
Date: Tuesday, 29 June 2004, 8:39 p.m.

  I was so heartened to see this article in The Townsend Letter for Doctors
and Patients. It confirms what I've written about in the past and know in my
heart to be true. Please pass this on to doctors and anyone afflicted with
these chronic illnesses. We desperately need to spread the word

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  New Ideas About The Cause, Spread
  and Therapy of Lyme Disease
  by Dr. James Howenstine

  Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, July 2004

  Lyme Disease was initially regarded as an uncommon illness caused by the
spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). The disease transmission was thought
to be solely by the bite from a tick infected with this spirochete. The Bb
spirochete is able to burrow into tendons, muscle cells, ligaments, and
directly into organs. A classic bulls-eye rash is often visible in the early
stage of the illness. Later in the illness the disease can afflict the
heart, nervous system, joints and other organs. It is now realized that the
disease can mimic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease,
multiple sclerosis, Bell's Palsy, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, neuritis,
psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, heart failure,
angina, irregular heart rhythms, fibromyalgia, dermatitis, autoimmune
diseases such as scleroderma and lupus, eye inflammatory reactions, sudden
deafness, SIDS, ADD and hyperactivity, chronic pain and many other
conditions.

  Biology professor, Lida Mattman, author of Cell Wall Deficient Forms:
Stealth Pathogens, has been able to recover live spirochetes of Bb from
mosquitos, fleas, mites, semen, urine, blood, and spinal fluid. A factor
contributing to making Bb so dangerous is that it can survive and spread
without having a cell wall (cell wall-deficient CWD). Many valuable
antibiotics kill bacteria by breaking down the cell wall. These antibiotics
often prove ineffective against Bb.

  Lyme Disease is now thought to be the fastest growing infectious disease
in the world. There are believed to be at least 200,000 new cases each year
in the US and some experts think that as many as one in every 15 Americans
is currently infected (20 million persons). Dr. Robert Rowen knows a family
where the mother's infection spread to 5 of her 6 children1 all of whom
recovered with appropriate therapy. It is difficult to believe that these
children were all bitten by ticks and seems more plausible that person to
person spread within the family caused this problem. Dr. Mattman states "I'm
convinced Lyme disease is transmissible from person to person." In 1995 Dr.
Mattman obtained positive cultures for Bb from 43 of 47 persons with chronic
illness. Only 1 of 23 control patients had a positive Bb culture. Dr.
Mattman has subsequently recovered Bb spirochetes form 8 out of 8 cases of
Parkinson's Disease, 41 cases of multiple sclerosis, 21 cases of amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis and all tested cases of Alzheimer's Disease. The complete
recovery of several patients with terminal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
after appropriate therapy shows the great importance of establishing the
diagnosis of Lyme Disease.

  Some very important information has recently become available about the
spread and magnitude of the problem with Lyme Disease. The severity of the
Lyme illness is related to the spirochete load in the patient. Few
spirochetes produce mild and asymptomatic infection. A study from
Switzerland in 1998 pointed out that only 12.5% of patients testing positive
for Bb had developed symptoms. A German boy developed Lyme arthritis 5 years
after his tick bite. Often mycoplasmal infections remain without symptoms
until the victim suffers a traumatic event (stress, injury, accident, etc.).
These stressing events enable the mycoplasma to begin consumption of
cholesterol and symptoms may begin to present. The mechanism of this
deterioration is thought to be suppression of the immune system secondary to
stress.

  Many patients with LD have concomitant infections with other parasites
(Ehrlichia in white blood cells and Babesia in red blood cells). Some
patients have all 3 parasites. Each requires a different therapy with
Babesia being particularly difficult to eradicate. Recently, Artemisinin
appears effective in Babesia infections. All co-infections must be
eliminated to obtain a successful result.

  Dr. Joanne Whitaker relates that nearly every patient with Parkinson's
Disease (PD) has tested positive for Bb. Dr. Luis Romero reports that 3
patients with PD are 99% better after TOA-free cat's claw (Uncaria
tomentosa) therapy. When Dr. Mattman cultures 25 patients with fibromyalgia
all subjects had positive cultures of the CWD Bb, which causes LD. She
relates that Bb can be found in tears and could thus easily appear on the
hands where touching could spread LD. Several families are now documented
where nearly every family member is infected. How sick the individual
patient becomes probably relates to their initial spirochete dose, immune
system, detoxification capability and stress levels.

  Transmission of the disease has been clearly documented after bites by
fleas, mites, mosquitos and ticks. There is compelling evidence that Lyme
disease (LD) can be spread by sexual and congenital transfer. One physician
has cared for 5000 children with LD: 240 of these children were born with
the disease. Dr. Charles Ray Jones, the leading pediatric specialist on Lyme
Disease, has found 12 breastfed children who have developed LD. Miscarriage,
premature births, stillbirths, birth defects, and transplacental infection
of the fetus have all been reported. Studies at the University of Vienna
have found Bb in urine and breast milk of LD mothers.

  Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have reported that dairy cattle
can be infected with Bb, hence milk could be contaminated. Bb can also be
transmitted to lab animals by oral intake such as food.

  The Sacramento, California blood bank thinks that LD can be spread by
blood transfusions. The CDC (Center of Disease Control) in Atlanta, Georgia
states that their data indicates that Bb can survive the blood processing
techniques used for transfusions in the US.

  Lyme Disease is the fastest growing epidemic in the world. LD is grossly
under-reported so there may be far more than the 200,000 cases reported
annually in the US. Drs. Harvey and Salvato estimate that 1 billion persons
in the world may be infected with LD. LD is thought to be a contributing
factor in 50% of patients who have chronic illness.

  Dr. Joanne Whitaker, a Lyme disease victim from childhood, has developed a
reliable test for the presence of Lyme disease. This test looks for the Bb
organism, not antibodies, and is able to identify the cell wall deficient
(CWD) form of the spirochete as well as the actual Bb organism. The test is
called Q-RIBb which stands for quantitative rapid identification of Bb. Dr.
Lida Mattman has confirmed that Dr. Whitaker's test is sensitive because
there has been a 100% correlation between a positive culture of Bb by Dr.
Mattman's lab and a positive Q-RIBb test from Dr. Whitaker's Laboratory.

  Case Reports Illustrating the Critical Importance of
  Establishing the Diagnosis of Lyme Disease.

  Case 1: Larry Powers, a former Mr. America in 1962, became ill with the
symptoms of Parkinson's Disease in 1990. Sinemet therapy was taken for eight
years but he gradually became worse. He became confined to a wheel chair and
required help with eating. After learning that Lyme Disease might be causing
his symptoms of PD he started taking TOA-free cat's claw (Uncaria
tomentosa). Within three weeks he was out of his wheelchair and fishing for
100 pound tarpon.

  Case 2: Tom Coffey at age 34 developed diplopia, severe hypertension
uncontrolled by drugs, and impaired balance. A diagnosis of amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis was made. Surgery was performed to correct the diplopia.
By June 2001 he was unable to swallow saliva and feeding tube nutrition was
begun. His weight had fallen by 100 pounds. Nutritional support from the
tube feedings produced slow resolution of the swallowing problem.
Consultation with a Lyme expert uncovered the history of a bulls-eye rash
after a tick bite. Therapy with Rocephin led to complete recovery.

  Case 3: A young male college student developed such sever cognitive
difficulties he was forced to drop out of school. A Q-RIBb test was positive
for LD and he resumed a normal life after receiving 4 months of antibiotic
therapy.

  What Causes Neurone Death in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)?

  One of the most insidious mimics for Lyme Disease is ALS. The neurotoxins
released by the Bb organism are capable of causing neurologic dysfunction in
the central nervous system that produces symptoms typical of amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis. The pathological hallmark of ALS is motor neurone
degeneration and death.

  Research performed by Dr. Harold Clark and Dr. Garth Nicholson and
coordinated by Donald W. Scott2 has resulted in a breakthrough in our
understanding of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

  Mycoplasma was discovered in 1898. These are living particles of bacterial
nucleic acid which do not have a cell wall. In 1971 Rottem et al.3 learned
that most species of mycoplasma were absolutely dependent for their growth
on the consumption of pre-formed sterols including cholesterol obtained from
animal and human host cells. These mycoplasmas live harmlessly in host cells
until they are stimulated to activity by a stressing traumatic event (bullet
wound, bad fall, injury from accident etc.). The growth of the mycoplasma
consumes the cell's cholesterol resulting in death of the affected cell.
Mycoplasmas have been identified in ALS using high resolution blood
morphology. In the November 9, 2001 issue of Science Dr. Daniel Mauch4 et
al. revealed that the glial cells surrounding the motor neurone sully the
extra cholesterol needed to repair and replace aging synapses. If the repair
does not properly occur, the motor neurone cells proceed to die form
overwork. Glial cells are also heavily involved in gathering, processing and
storing glutamate. Elevations in glutamate have been found in brain tissue
in ALS.

  A mycoplasma species, probably fermentans, which was harmlessly
sequestered in a glial cell, becomes aroused by some traumatic stressful
event. This mycoplasma then consumes the glial cholesterol which makes up
40% of the glial cell membrane, causing rupture and death of the glial dell.
The death of these glial cells releases large amounts of glutamate which
becomes elevated in brain tissue. Within the neurone some of the excess
glutamate accesses a urea molecule. The urea molecule gives up an ammonia
ion which converts a glutamate molecule into less dangerous glutamine. This
leaves the former urea molecule as a cyanate ion which damages the motor
neurone's mitochondria. One of the consequences of the damaged mitochondria
is a decrease in the energy output available to the neurone. This produces
the severe weakness and fatigue seen in patients with chronic fatigue
syndrome. If the mitochondrial injury is severe the neurone dies. The death
of motor neurone stops message delivery to muscle tissue - a universal
finding in ALS.

  This avid consumption of cholesterol may also contribute to the endocrine
dysfunction seen in ALS because it decreases the amount of cholesterol
available to produce estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, hydrocortisone,
and aldosterone. Patients with ALS, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue
syndrome often have hypothalamic dysfunction which may result in adrenal
insufficiency, hypothyroidism, and gonadal failure.

  Lyme disease frequently exhibits neurologic abnormalities because the Bb
neurotoxins are drawn to the fatty tissue found in the brain and peripheral
nerves. As a consequence sudden deafness, Bells palsy, Parkinson's Disease,
Multiple Sclerosis, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, peripheral neuritis, and
chronic pain may appear.

  The Influence of Toxins from Bb on the Symptoms and Course of Lyme Disease

  Autopsy examinations of young persons (30s) dying from what appeared to be
Parkinson's disease (PD) have frequently failed to confirm the basal
ganglion damage that would be expected in classic PD seen in the elderly.
Some patients with illnesses of many years' duration misdiagnosed as
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Multiple Scleroris, and Parkinson's Disease
have made incredible recoveries within periods as short as 24 to 72 hours
when placed on TOA-free Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) for LD. This rapid
response could not rationally be attributed to improved immune function or
bacteriocidal effects on spirochetes. Bb is known to produce a group of
neurotoxins. The most sensible explanation for this recovery lies in turning
off or blocking the neurotoxins effects of Bb on the lipid containing
structures that the Bb neurotoxins are attracted to (central nervous system,
peripheral nerves, muscles, joints, etc.). This sudden improvement appears
to be the result of blockage and inhibition of the neurotoxins.5 The most
important example of a "Biotoxin Illness" appears to be Lyme Disease.6
Patients with symptoms of Parkinson's Disease at a young age caused by
neurotoxins would not be expected to show permanent structural destruction
in the basal ganglia. These neurotoxins probably act at specific sites such
as neuro-transmitters-pre and post synaptic membranes, altering dopamine,
serotonin, GABA, and acetylcholine molecules, thereby blocking surface
membrane receptors of various kinds which would interfere with the proper
action of enzymes, coenzymes and hormones. This is only one of the damaging
mechanisms of action of the neurotoxins.

  The Uncaria tomentosa may have three direct beneficial effects in humans
with LD:

  Immune modulation (correcting immune dysfunction).
  Direct broad spectrum anti-microbial effect on spirochetes. Quinovic acid
glycosides found in TOA-free cat's claw are similar to the quinilones widely
used as antibiotics.
  Blocking the adverse neurotoxic effects on cells, enzymes, and hormones.
  Whether the serious lack of energy and fatigue seen in LD are similar to
the cyanate7 induced damage to the mitochondria's ability to produce energy
in the motor neurone found in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or is due to
failure of proper calcium channel function is not clear.

  Favorable Therapeutic Results with TOA-Free Cat's Claw in Lyme Disease

  A pilot study treated 28 patients with Advanced Chronic Lyme Disease with
TOA-Free Uncaria tomentosa. Conventional cat's claw contains TOA alkaloids
that interfere with the desired immune modulation. The 14 person control
group was given antibiotic therapy. At the study's termination 85% of those
receiving the cat's claw preparation no longer had positive blood tests for
Bb. All 28 persons had experienced a dramatic improvement in their clinical
condition. No significant changes were seen in the control group. The Prima
Uņa de Gato can be obtained from Allergy Research Group 800-545-9960,
Nutramedix (product name Samento Plus) 561-745-2917, and from Farmacopia at
800-896-1484. Dr. Whitaker's lab can be reached by Internet at www.Bowen.org
or by calling 727-937-9077 to arrange blood Bb testing. Improving nutrition,
detoxifying and improving mental health all contribute to good results.
Removal of mercury amalgams and treatment of heavy metals may be needed.

  Much of this information about LD was obtained from "Lyme disease:
Nutraceutical Breakthrough Using TOA-Free Cat's Claw" published in Focus by
Allergy Research Group (October 2003) and from the November and December
2003 issues of Dr. Robert Rowen's Second Opinion.

  Why Are We Experiencing an Epidemic of Lyme Disease?

  I do not have a certain answer to this question. There are some facts that
may be relevant. Several US government scientists including Dr. Shuy-Ching
Lo, of the American Institute of Pathology, hold a patent on a Pathogenic
Mycoplasma (mycoplasma fermentans) which has been converted into a
crystalline form. In the patent application the diseases AIDS, chronic
fatigue syndrome, Wegener's Granulomatosis, Sarcoidosis, lupus and Alzheimer
's Disease were mentioned as related to this patented form of mycoplasma
fermentens. The crystalline form of mycoplasma fermentens contains the part
of the brucella bacteria that causes disease in patients. In its crystalline
form this mycoplasma can be transmitted into subjects by intravenous
administration or injections, spread as an aerosol, implanted by the bite of
an insect, or placed into food or water. There is no laboratory evidence for
infection by brucella in subjects who have received the "crystalline
pathogenic mycoplasma."

  When a nation is developing biologic warfare agents it is imperative that
these agents be tested on humans to evaluate the results. If an infectious
biologic warfare agent was able to produce person to person transfer it
would have to be regarded as a gigantic success.

  In the Faroe Islands in 1943 British biowar researchers ran tests to see
if sheep could be infected by air-borne brucella. The brucella spread into
sheep dogs as brucella canis and then appeared to cause several humans to
develop multiple sclerosis.

  In 1947 and 1948, approximately 1,100 school children in remote northern
Icelandic villages (Akureyri) became ill with a new disease that caused
severe burning pain in the limbs, profound muscle weakness, and severe
fatigue. Of these 1,100 teenagers who became ill, 5 of the students
developed an aggressive form of Parkinson's disease and proceeded to die
(unheard of in teenagers not using methedrine-like drugs). The United States
had effective control of Iceland during these years and a research scientist
trained in plant and animal virology at the Rockefeller Institute (oriented
toward eugenics), Dr. Bjorn Sigurdson, was installed to start an Institute
of Experimental Pathology at the University of Iceland with $200,000 in
grant money from the Rockefeller Institute. In 1950 a group of American
physicians, microbiologists, and biologic researchers sponsored by the
Rockefeller Foundation arrived in Iceland to study the effects of the
mystery illness that had struck Northern Iceland. The appearance of a new
disease was of such great interest that Icelandic Disease was promptly
reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

  The Canadian government set up the Dominion Parasite Laboratory in
Belleville, Ontario in the 1950's and 60's to grow one hundred million
mosquitos a month. In late August of 1984, 500 persons in the St. Lawrence
Valley became ill with a mystery illness which had the profound weakness
seen in brucellosis without any laboratory evidence of brucella infection.
One woman was certain her illness came from a mosquito bite. She recalled
being bitten by a mosquito and woke up the next day with a target skin
lesion at the bite site (same skin lesion as seen in Lyme Disease) and such
profound weakness she was unable to get out of bed. Another woman recalled a
target lesion at the site of a mosquito bite. Both women remain ill 20 years
later.

  Citizens in Punta Gorda, Florida woke up one spring morning in 1956 with a
cloud of mosquitos in their town. Calls to the Meteorological Service about
the mosquito influx were answered with the information that there had been a
forest fire thirty miles away in the Everglades and that these mosquitos had
fled the fire. The truth is mosquitos will not move from one side of a barn
to the other when a fire breaks out, let alone fly 30 miles. One week later
5 persons appeared in the local medical clinic with symptoms of chronic
fatigue syndrome.

  In 1984 mycoplasma may have been transmitted by aerosol into a high school
in Incline Village, Nevada, where many persons suddenly developed chronic
fatigue syndrome. Children became ill with a similar mysterious illness in
1984 after drinking goat's milk in Lyndonville, New York. The cities of Adel
aide, Australia 1949, West Otago, New Zealand 1984, and Royal Free Hospital
London, England 1955 have all been visited by mini-epidemics of chronic
fatigue syndrome.

  These mycoplasmas, when activated by stress, are avid consumers of sterols
including cholesterol. A series of chemical reactions ensues culminating in
the creation of cyanate which causes failure of normal energy production by
the mitochondria of the cells. This could produce the profound weakness and
fatigue characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome. A 2 to 3 month trial of
300 to 500 mg. of CoQ10 daily might be able to improve energy output by the
mitochondria thus possibly alleviating the profound fatigue.

  When the illness causes painful trigger points, it is best termed
fibromyalgia. These painful sites are located where blood flow is stagnant.
Chronic infections are known to produce high viscosity blood which tends to
clot a flow more slowly than normal.

  Profound dysfunction of the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal, thyroid
glands and gonads is very common in mycoplasmal, fungal, and anerobic
bacterial infections. The avid consumption of cholesterol by activated
mycoplasma could be a contributing factor to these endocrine disorders
because cholesterol is needed to create several important hormones
(estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, hydrocortisone, aldosterone).

  Bacteriologist Dr. Arthur Kendall was able to produce 16 distinct
bacteria8 by simply using different culture media to culture the same
bacteria. Dr. Royal Rife's Universal Microscope could see organisms as small
as viruses. By using Dr. Rife's microscope Dr. Kendall could actually see
living organisms change their characteristics as the culture media were
changed. Dr. G.C. Gruner of McGill University used an asparagus media to
grow a fungus found in the blood of patients with cancer. When this fungus
was grown in Kendall's medium it converted into the Bx virus which had been
proven by Koch's postulates to cause cancer. These experiments proved that
the fungus that Dr. Gruner saw in the blood of cancer patients was actually
the same organism as the Bx virus that Dr. Kendall had proven causes cancer.
Obviously, biologic micro-organisms exhibit considerable pleomorphism which
may explain why observers do not find the same organisms in patients with
chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Lyme Disease as those being
found by other observers (HHN-G, CMV, EBV viruses, parasites Bb, ehrlichae,
babesia, bartonella, mycoplasma, Chlamydia, anerobic bacteria, yeast and
fungi have all been implicated).

  There is considerable evidence that many patients with Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Lyme disease have an infectious disease. Lyme
disease needs to be considered in every patient with a chronic illness. LD
can produce every disease found in the Diagnostic Symptoms Manual for
psychiatric illness (attention deficit disorder ADD, antisocial personality,
panic attacks, anorexia nervosa, autism, Aspergers syndrome, etc.). Skilled
antimicrobial therapy should permit many of these unfortunate patients to
regain their health. TOA-free cat's claw will be valuable for many persons
with Bb found by blood tests and culture. Sulfoxime and dioxychlor will
relieve the pain found in fibromyalgia. Dietary changes, correction of pH,
detoxification and stress reduction counseling can all be beneficial.

  The United States maintains a biological warfare research laboratory on
Plum Island directly across Long Island Sound from the sites where Lyme
Disease and West Nile Disease were first encountered in Old Lyme and
Madison, Connecticut. Massive deaths of birds are common at the sites where
West Nile viral disease appears, suggesting that the illness may afflict
birds before entering humans. Dr. Warren Levin of Wilton, Connecticut states
that 56% of the families in Wilton have at least one family member with LD.
Could seagulls containing crystalline mycoplasma fermentens and West Nile
Virus have escaped or been released from Plum Island?

  Much of this information about biowarfare agents and crystalline
mycoplasma fermentens is from an article written by biochemist Donald W.
Scott and published in the Winter 2003 edition of The Journal of
Degenerative Diseases Volume 5 Number 1. The publisher is Common Cause
Medical Research Foundation, Box 133, Station B, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
P3E 4NR Canada.

  Dr. James Howenstine is a specialist in internal medicine. He is author of
the book A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products that Work, 328 pg.
$17.95. His book can be obtained from Amazon.com, naturalhealthteam.com and
by calling 1-800-416-2806. Dr. Howenstine can be reached at
jimhow@racsa.co.cr and by writing Dr. James Howenstine c/o Remarsa USA SB
37, P.O. Box 25292, Miami, Florida 33102-5292

  References

  Rowen, Robert. If you have any chronic debilitating disease, you could be
the victim of a Monster Epidemic! Second Opinion Vol X111 No. 11 November
2003
  Scott, D.W., Crusader P.O. Box 618205, Orlando, FL 32861-8205
October-November 2002 pg. 26-32. Also see Scott, D.W. and Scott, W.L.C.
Amyotrophic LateralSclerosis: The Probable Cause; A Possible Cure 233
Government St., Suite 6E, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8T 4P4; 888-232-444,
  ISBN 1-55395-214-6
  Rottem, Pfend, Hayflick. Sterol Requirements of T-strain Mycoplasmas
Journal of Bacteriology 1971
  Daniel Daniel H., Nagler, Goritz, Muller, Otto, Pfrieger. CNS
Synaptogenesis Promoted by Glia-Derived Cholesterol. Science Nov. 9, 2001
  Romero, Luis M.D.,PhD, Neurotoxins Focus, Allergy Research Group
Newsletter pg. 10 Oct. 2003
  Shoemaker, C. M.D., Hudnall, Kenneth, PhD. Focus, Allergy Research Group
Newsletter pg. 10 Oct. 2003
  Scott, Donald W. Lou, Gehrig's Disease is Not a Mistery Anymore Crusader
pg. 31 Oct-November 2002
  Montgomery, Shawn, The Rise and Fall of a Scientific Genius (video) Zero
Zero Productions, 3 Baldoon Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1B 1Vd;
www.zerozerotwo.org

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