Historic Move by CT Attorney General to Investigate IDSA Guidelines Process Give

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Historic Move by CT Attorney General to Investigate IDSA Guidelines Process

Gives Hope to Thousands of Lyme Disease Patients

Nov 16 2006, 7:00 AM EST

BIOWIRE

The national non-profit Lyme Disease Association (LDA), representing more

Lyme disease patients than any organization in the United States, applauds

Connecticut State Attorney General Blumenthal for beginning an

investigation into the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Lyme

disease

guidelines development process. In an unprecedented move, the Attorney

General's

office filed a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) to look into possible

anti-trust violations by the IDSA in connection with exclusionary conduct and

monopolization in the development of the Lyme guidelines.

Although unprecedented, the LDA feels this action is vitally necessary to

protect the welfare of chronic Lyme patients nationwide whose treatments have

been impacted by the stance taken by the IDSA. Their guidelines deny the

existence of chronic infectious Lyme disease and list as " not recommended " most

of

the conventional medical treatments prescribed by physicians as well as

alternative treatments often chosen by patients for any Lyme manifestation. Even

some nutritional supplements should not be an option according to IDSA.

Clinical guidelines now drive the standard of care, and these IDSA

guidelines have already been published on the CDC website. They are being used

to deny

treatment reimbursement and will have a continued chilling effect on the

small numbers of treating physicians, since clinical discretion is not

recommended in the guidelines.

The October 2006 guidelines do not acknowledge that a complex bacterium such

as the Lyme disease spirochete could possibly survive in the body and the

brain, evading the immune system and short-term courses of antibiotics, nor do

they take into consideration any other professional diagnostic or treatment

guidelines such as those published by the International Lyme and Associated

Diseases Society (ILADS), which discuss chronic disease diagnostic and treatment

modalities. The IDSA also refused to allow patient or chronic

disease-treating physician input into the guidelines process through the LDA

and ILADS,

respectively, although both organizations requested to be a part of the process.

The national LDA and its affiliates Time for Lyme (CT) and the California

Lyme Disease Association and ILADS, a professional medical organization, had

appealed to the Attorney General on behalf of patients and treating physicians.

We are encouraged by the issuance of the CID, and we hope that this will lead

to actions that will guarantee patients the right to be treated and support

physicians' right to treat using clinical discretion.