Interview: Dr. Richard Horowitz, MD, author of "why can't i get better: solving the mystery of Lyme & chronic disease"
Dr. Horowitz: MSIDS stands for Multiple Systemic Infectious Diseases Syndrome. Chronically ill, complex patients, no matter which diagnosis they have, often have simultaneous multiple bacterial, parasitic, viral, and fungal causes of their illnesses. These people also have associated immune dysfunction, large environmental toxin loads, hormonal disorders, mitochondrial dysfunction, allergies, functional metabolic abnormalities, sleep problems, and underlying psychological disorders. My 16 point MSIDS model can be applied to these individuals with complex chronic medical disorders, and help solve the mystery of their illness, providing treatment options that have not been available before. My goal in presenting the MSIDS map is to offer a broad based solution for Lyme and co-infections that provides a bridge for the two competing groups (IDSA and ILADS) so that they can come together and help all of these patients. Overall, my MSIDS model presents a solid plan to address the rapidly expanding Lyme crisis and reduce the burden of chronic disease in this country and the world.
Laura Wild: Dr. Horowitz, what do you believe is the true number of people in the world with tick borne infection at the root cause of their illness? You mention in your book on page 2 "Lyme and other tick-borne disorders have been identified across the globe and are causing untold suffering and disability in millions of people every day. It is no wonder that Lyme and associated tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are called "the great imitators." Because the testing for Lyme disease is plagued with inaccuracy, based on your clinical experience, what do you believe is your best estimate of a global percentage of people infected with Lyme? What do you think is the estimated world-wide percentage of people co-infected?
Dr. Horowitz: When I consulted with the Chinese government several years ago, they told me that up to 6 % of their 1.3 billion people had been exposed to Lyme, and that was using insensitive blood testing like the ELISA test, which can miss approximately half of the cases. It is therefore possible that up to 150-200 million people have been affected by this epidemic since Lyme has spread worldwide, and has been known to be around since the 1800's (it has actually been around a lot longer, since the DNA of borrelia was found in Otzi, the Neanderthal man, 5000 years ago).
If you look at the number and percentage of the population that is co-infected with other tick-borne infections, that is a little bit more difficult to determine, because the rates of co-infections have been rising over the past several years, doctors are not always testing for these organisms, and the tests are known to be unreliable as they are for Lyme disease. For example, when I first did studies here in Dutchess County, N.Y. to evaluate the incidence of Babesiosis, only a small percentage of the ticks we sent to IgeneX came back positive. According to Dr. Ostfeld, who works at the Institute for Ecosystems Studies in Millbrook, N.Y, 41% of the ticks tested in Dutchess County were recently positive for Babesia. The rates have therefore gone up 10-fold over the past 13 years for babesia. If you look at the Powassan virus, the Tokarz study showed that 1-2 % of the ticks contained the virus in NY State in 2009; now in 2013 it is 5-6%, which means that the incidence of the virus has tripled over the past 4 years. In Vermont, 16% of the dogs were diagnosed as having Lyme disease in the past several years, according to the Vermont Department of Health, and that figure was only 10% several years earlier. That could mean that up to 16% of people in the Northeastern parts of the United States have also been affected. Also in Vermont, the rate of Anaplasma doubled in the last couple of years, and they are not screening for certain co-infections like Babesia, which means the rates of that co-infection could be rising rapidly, as it has in New York State, since over 75% of the patients who come to see me have Babesia. Other co-infections like Bartonella are more difficult to measure because the testing is so unreliable.
I would therefore estimate that conservatively if 150-200 million people have Lyme disease in the world right now, then certainly at least one third of those could have been exposed to co-infections. So it could be an estimated 50 million people at this point worldwide who are co-infected, but it is difficult to give an exact number, because there are over 100 strains of Lyme in the USA, over 300 strains of Lyme worldwide, and over 100 strains of Babesia. We are not evaluating the incidence of exposure to these different strains. We are in the middle of a rising epidemic of associated tick-borne co-infections, and we are not adequately monitoring the number of people affected. We are definitely underestimating the numbers!
Laura Wild: Dr. Horowitz, what do you believe is the best way to break through to the CFS, fibromyalgia, Multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Lupus patient communities to present your MSIDS map? As a patient advocate I have worked very hard to help many of these patients to dig deeper and search for and treat the root cause of their problems, but I am met with a great deal of resistance as these patients tend to defend their diagnosis to the ground. I will never understand how people settle, and live their whole lives being diagnosed with symptoms and only use Band-Aid approaches for symptoms without addressing or treating the cause. How can we break through to all of these communities? Based on your experience, do you believe that a large percentage of these patients have tick borne infection as the root cause of their disease(s)?
Dr. Horowitz: We must look at the common denominators. When you go through the scientific literature which is outlined in my book, the one common denominator for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia is inflammation. The MSIDS model is still applicable if you do not have Lyme because it is still the same inflammatory problem at the core. The inflammation can be due to inflammatory molecules called cytokines, such as TNF alpha, IL-1 and IL-6, and it doesn't matter whether the inflammatory pathway was stimulated by bacteria, a virus, and an environmental toxin or by an emotional trauma, it still sets off the same inflammatory pathway. It doesn't mean that every one of these cases of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue is Lyme. It could be what I call non-Lyme MSIDS. These patients may have the same symptoms whether they have borrelia or not. They may have fatigue, trouble sleeping, joint and muscle pain, environmental toxins, food sensitivities and allergies, hormonal imbalances and so on. With MS, 95% of the patients that come to me who have failed MS drug therapy have tested positive for Lyme. With regards to MS, we know it is a demyelinating disease, so when you apply the MSIDS model to this illness, and look for the multi-factorial causes for MS, we might find Lyme, Bartonella, vitamin D deficiency, mercury toxicity, and chlamydia pneumonia.
wiecej na stronie :
http://www.publichealthalert.org/-interview-with-dr-horowitz.html
Dr. Horowitz: MSIDS stands for Multiple Systemic Infectious Diseases Syndrome. Chronically ill, complex patients, no matter which diagnosis they have, often have simultaneous multiple bacterial, parasitic, viral, and fungal causes of their illnesses. These people also have associated immune dysfunction, large environmental toxin loads, hormonal disorders, mitochondrial dysfunction, allergies, functional metabolic abnormalities, sleep problems, and underlying psychological disorders. My 16 point MSIDS model can be applied to these individuals with complex chronic medical disorders, and help solve the mystery of their illness, providing treatment options that have not been available before. My goal in presenting the MSIDS map is to offer a broad based solution for Lyme and co-infections that provides a bridge for the two competing groups (IDSA and ILADS) so that they can come together and help all of these patients. Overall, my MSIDS model presents a solid plan to address the rapidly expanding Lyme crisis and reduce the burden of chronic disease in this country and the world.
Laura Wild: Dr. Horowitz, what do you believe is the true number of people in the world with tick borne infection at the root cause of their illness? You mention in your book on page 2 "Lyme and other tick-borne disorders have been identified across the globe and are causing untold suffering and disability in millions of people every day. It is no wonder that Lyme and associated tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are called "the great imitators." Because the testing for Lyme disease is plagued with inaccuracy, based on your clinical experience, what do you believe is your best estimate of a global percentage of people infected with Lyme? What do you think is the estimated world-wide percentage of people co-infected?
Dr. Horowitz: When I consulted with the Chinese government several years ago, they told me that up to 6 % of their 1.3 billion people had been exposed to Lyme, and that was using insensitive blood testing like the ELISA test, which can miss approximately half of the cases. It is therefore possible that up to 150-200 million people have been affected by this epidemic since Lyme has spread worldwide, and has been known to be around since the 1800's (it has actually been around a lot longer, since the DNA of borrelia was found in Otzi, the Neanderthal man, 5000 years ago).
If you look at the number and percentage of the population that is co-infected with other tick-borne infections, that is a little bit more difficult to determine, because the rates of co-infections have been rising over the past several years, doctors are not always testing for these organisms, and the tests are known to be unreliable as they are for Lyme disease. For example, when I first did studies here in Dutchess County, N.Y. to evaluate the incidence of Babesiosis, only a small percentage of the ticks we sent to IgeneX came back positive. According to Dr. Ostfeld, who works at the Institute for Ecosystems Studies in Millbrook, N.Y, 41% of the ticks tested in Dutchess County were recently positive for Babesia. The rates have therefore gone up 10-fold over the past 13 years for babesia. If you look at the Powassan virus, the Tokarz study showed that 1-2 % of the ticks contained the virus in NY State in 2009; now in 2013 it is 5-6%, which means that the incidence of the virus has tripled over the past 4 years. In Vermont, 16% of the dogs were diagnosed as having Lyme disease in the past several years, according to the Vermont Department of Health, and that figure was only 10% several years earlier. That could mean that up to 16% of people in the Northeastern parts of the United States have also been affected. Also in Vermont, the rate of Anaplasma doubled in the last couple of years, and they are not screening for certain co-infections like Babesia, which means the rates of that co-infection could be rising rapidly, as it has in New York State, since over 75% of the patients who come to see me have Babesia. Other co-infections like Bartonella are more difficult to measure because the testing is so unreliable.
I would therefore estimate that conservatively if 150-200 million people have Lyme disease in the world right now, then certainly at least one third of those could have been exposed to co-infections. So it could be an estimated 50 million people at this point worldwide who are co-infected, but it is difficult to give an exact number, because there are over 100 strains of Lyme in the USA, over 300 strains of Lyme worldwide, and over 100 strains of Babesia. We are not evaluating the incidence of exposure to these different strains. We are in the middle of a rising epidemic of associated tick-borne co-infections, and we are not adequately monitoring the number of people affected. We are definitely underestimating the numbers!
Laura Wild: Dr. Horowitz, what do you believe is the best way to break through to the CFS, fibromyalgia, Multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Lupus patient communities to present your MSIDS map? As a patient advocate I have worked very hard to help many of these patients to dig deeper and search for and treat the root cause of their problems, but I am met with a great deal of resistance as these patients tend to defend their diagnosis to the ground. I will never understand how people settle, and live their whole lives being diagnosed with symptoms and only use Band-Aid approaches for symptoms without addressing or treating the cause. How can we break through to all of these communities? Based on your experience, do you believe that a large percentage of these patients have tick borne infection as the root cause of their disease(s)?
Dr. Horowitz: We must look at the common denominators. When you go through the scientific literature which is outlined in my book, the one common denominator for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia is inflammation. The MSIDS model is still applicable if you do not have Lyme because it is still the same inflammatory problem at the core. The inflammation can be due to inflammatory molecules called cytokines, such as TNF alpha, IL-1 and IL-6, and it doesn't matter whether the inflammatory pathway was stimulated by bacteria, a virus, and an environmental toxin or by an emotional trauma, it still sets off the same inflammatory pathway. It doesn't mean that every one of these cases of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue is Lyme. It could be what I call non-Lyme MSIDS. These patients may have the same symptoms whether they have borrelia or not. They may have fatigue, trouble sleeping, joint and muscle pain, environmental toxins, food sensitivities and allergies, hormonal imbalances and so on. With MS, 95% of the patients that come to me who have failed MS drug therapy have tested positive for Lyme. With regards to MS, we know it is a demyelinating disease, so when you apply the MSIDS model to this illness, and look for the multi-factorial causes for MS, we might find Lyme, Bartonella, vitamin D deficiency, mercury toxicity, and chlamydia pneumonia.
wiecej na stronie :
http://www.publichealthalert.org/-interview-with-dr-horowitz.html
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