2 News: Substantial Increase In Tick Activity Concerns Canadian Officials

Good news from Canada about increasing Lyme disease awareness: The Kingston Whig Standard newspaper has written about the record number of ticks residents sent into the health unit for Lyme disease testing and the number of ticks found positive so far. Excerpt: "Following a substantial increase in the number of ticks submitted for testing this year, officials with the local health unit hope to draw a bullseye around the issue of Lyme disease in order to prevent a rash of new cases in 2012. Joan Mays, manager of health protection for the Leeds,...

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0 News: Judy Mikovits To Be Released On Bail

The latest report on the Mikovits case comes from the AAAS Science Insider: http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/11/inmate-mikovits-meets-judge.html?ref=ra Regarding the outcome of today's proceedings, the judge granted a request for a continuance on the extradition demand and asked Mikovits to return on the 19th of December. Mikovits, who has denied wrongdoing through lawyers handling her civil suit, posted bail shortly after the hearing and has been expected to be released this evening. More details on the case and discussion of...

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0 Article: The Mouse Trap: How One Rodent Rules The Lab

Slate recently posted a three part series on the use of mice in biomedical research and how that use has helped as well as hindered drug development and scientific understanding of human illness. This three part series kicks off with "The Mouse Trap: the dangers of using one lab animal to study every disease", which examines the rise in the use of the murine (mouse) model  to test new pharmaceuticals and get a better understanding of human processes in illness. We also learn that this model - useful as it has been - has its drawbacks.  Mark...

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0 News: Judy Mikovits, CFS Researcher, Has Been Arrested

While not directly about Lyme disease, any news about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) can be notable to the Lyme disease community as some patients have been diagnosed with CFS and any research on persisting fatigue and its cause has been of interest. This is big news. While all the specifics behind the charges are unknown at this time, Retraction Watch just published that Judy Mikovits, a researcher involved in the XMRV controversy, has had a warrant out for her arrest for felony charges and was arrested in Ventura County, California, yesterday. More...

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5 News: Infected Ticks Found In New Brunswick

Dear Canadian doctors: Yes, Virginia, there IS Lyme disease in Canada. Please step up to the plate and diagnose and treat the growing number of Canadians with Lyme disease. Thank you... Deer ticks found on Grand Manan The provincial Health Department recently identified a breeding population of blacklegged ticks, properly Ixodes scapularis, sometimes called deer ticks, infected with Lyme disease at North Head, Grand Manan. "We only confirmed that in the last week or so," New Brunswick's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eilish Cleary said...

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2 Article: Anaplasmosis Plus Lyme Disease In Dogs = Sick As Dogs

The West Salem Veterinary Clinic reposted part of an August 2011 article on its site in the La Crosse Tribune in Wisconsin recently. The original article is found here: http://westsalemvetclinic.vetstreet.com/blog/ticks Here are two paragraphs I want share with all dog lovers out there: Anaplasmosis phagocytophilum, previously known as Ehrlichia equi, is very prevalent in this area. It is spread by the same ticks as Lyme Disease and it can be a co-infection (both infections occurring at the same time) with Lyme Disease. Experts at IDEXX Laboratories,...

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0 News: Massachusetts Proposal For Lyme Research Institute Trust Fund

News from The Cambridge Chronicle, where the Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local representatives on seven roll calls and local senators on two roll calls from the week of October 31-November 4. One of this week's proposals is for establishing a special trust fund for Lyme disease research at the Universty of Massachusetts Medical School at Worcester: LYME DISEASE RESEARCH (H 349) - The Higher Education Committee is considering a proposal that would establish a Lyme disease Research Institute Trust Fund to provide grants to the University...

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0 Two Notable Antibiotic Articles - Long-term Effects & Alternatives

H. pylori: Friend or foe? Answer: It depends... I know some of you reading along may have already seen this, but I think it bears mentioning again and also bears mentioning for those who may not have seen it: The New York Times recently published an article on the long-term effects of antibiotic usage, "In Some Cases, Even Bad Bacteria May Be Good". After reading the above link, I found it fascinating and disturbing that antibiotics not only could contribute to obesity - the hypothesis originally being test driven by the writer - but that...

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2 Admin Update: Lyme Disease Awareness and Outreach

There are a lot of ways to spread support for Lyme disease awareness. Some people make web sites, some people make Lyme disease related clothing, some people make bracelets and other jewelry, and then others make the popular Lyme disease support ribbons. Some people hold fundraisers like Lyme walks or benefits at local bars. Here in the virtual world, we can't really give each other tangible items to wear and hold, but we can make representations of them. I've been searching far and wide to find something that would represent my strong desire...

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0 News: Tickborne Disease Outbreak Hits Australia

Brushtail possum While there has been some controversy over the existence of Lyme disease in Australia, there is no debate over the existence of another tickborne illness, Tularemia - also known as rabbit fever caused by the bacteria, Francisella tularensis. There are now two reported cases of Tularemia in residents from Tasmania, though the disease is more common in Asia and the US. Reading about this news originally reminded me of a film I watched a few years ago, Rabbit Proof Fence - and it made me think that more surveillance than ever...

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0 Science Articles: Probiotics As Anti-inflammatories, Bacterial Gene Transfer

Probiotics Effective in Combating Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea, Studies Find; 'Good Bugs' Look Promising as Anti-Inflammatory Agents In four different studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC, researchers explored the effectiveness of probiotics for antibiotic-associated diarrhea; as an anti-inflammatory agent for patients with ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and chronic fatigue syndrome; and for people with abdominal discomfort and bloating who have not been diagnosed...

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0 Institute of Medicine Final Report on October 2010 Tickborne Disease Workshop

Back in October 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) held a workshop which was broadcast online live (and remains available at TV worldwide), Critical Needs and Gaps in Understanding: Prevention, Amelioration, and Resolution of Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases: The Short-Term and Long-Term Outcomes. The workshop participants were members of the Institute of Medicine, various researchers, doctors, and members of the Lyme disease patient advocacy community. A preliminary summary report on the workshop was published by the IOM in April 2011....

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