Articles Published in the Lyme Alliance Newsletter
By Robert C Bransfield, MD
The smallest, rather than the largest, organisms and their low grade and persistent effects, rather than their acute effects, are the greatest threat to our health and safety. Stealth, phoenix-like pathogens are always within us. Sometimes, in combination with the imperfections of our immune system, they cause a slow, progressive trauma to our bodies. In addition, toxic and deficiency states can also interact with our vulnerabilities to add to this progressive trauma. The combined effect of this injury contributes to the dysfunction associated with the common psychiatric and somatic illnesses. These scientific and medical insights were primarily driven by the convergence of initiatives in three areas—the application of evolutionary concepts to theoretical biology, biotechnical advances in detecting the presence and pathophysiological effects of pathogens, and the clinical observations and judgment of community physicians.
Not all stealth pathogens have yet been discovered. They include human endogenous retroviruses within the human genome, retroviruses, other viruses, prions, mycoplasms, sexually transmitted diseases, and zoonotic diseases which are normally in animal hosts and are sometimes transmitted to humans. Ticks, a major vector of zoonotic diseases, are known to transmit a number of different viruses, bacteria, spirochetes, parasites, and rickettsiae. Borrelia burgdorferi, often impacted by other interactive copathogens, is the causative agents of Lyme disease. A broad spectrum of neuropsychiatric symptoms is the most significant sequela of late stage disease. Earlier work with Lyme disease focused upon the acute arthritic and other overt symptoms. However, brains are much more complex than joints and it is more challenging to understand the chronic and more subtle impact of these diseases upon the brain.
The application of these concepts can extend and enhance the quality of our lives. Unfortunately, there is always considerable resistance to new ideas, especially when they are revolutionary. Sometimes, this is the necessary process of scientific scrutiny, but there is also an investment to maintain the status quo and to protect conflicting interests. The following articles explore these issues in greater detail. I hope you find them interesting and thought provoking.
Robert Bransfield, M.D.