Guest guest Posted May 2, 2000 Report Share Posted May 2, 2000 Hi Roseanne, Thanks for posting this, I sure hope you qualify. I would be willing to pay for tests out of pocket if I could, as I know that SKB's labs stink and of course this is the one my insurer uses. Maybe for that very reason. Keep us posted please on your progress in the study. Hugs, Marta From: nne Montalvo <roe0325@...> >hello everyone, the following was on nbc news at 5 >last week. an interview with Dr. Fallon regarding his >study. They are still looking for patients. they >asked me to have my wb done at stoney brooke or have a >PCR - i decided to have a PCR done at my own lab, >because my ins. will not pay for the stoney brooke >lab. they want me in the study but because i dont have >positive igg's i dont qualify. if the pcr comes back >positive then i qualify. >the reporter mentions at the end that the study is >important because doctors have had their medical >licenses threatened because some experts say that's >unproven and dangerous therapy. > >rosanne > > > Well, as weather gets warmer and eventually it will, >we will all start to spend more > time out doors and our thoughts will start to turn to >lyme disease. By now, > you probably know that lyme can cause painful >swollen joints and that a short course of oral >antibiotics usually clears it up. But did you know >that lyme can affect your brain? Reporter: 0It's a >standard neuropsychological test that laura often has >trouble with. Imagine how frustrating this must be >for a woman who was once the president of a wochl's >apparel company. >> I started noticing that i was >forgetting meetings or i would call a meeting and i >would forget what the meeting was all about. Simple >things. Losing my car keys. Uhm... Ordering food and >forgetting to, uhm, that i ordered the food and i'd >leave and i'd go out to dinner. >> Reporter: Was it a >stroke or a burp on the head that caused this? No. It >was this actually, it was a bite from a deer tick that >transmitted bacterium that gave laura lyme disease. >> >It can attach to the nerve tissue of the brain and >start causing inflammation and i think that's probably >the way in which it causes problems with thinking, >problems with mood, and a wide array of memory >problems. >> Reporter: That much is becoming accepted >by most experts. As is the fact that i.V. Antibiotics >are an effective treatment for neurological lyme >disease What's extremely controversial is how long >should the i.V. Antibiotics continue? That's the >question dr. Fallon and colleagues at the new york >state psychiatric institute hope to answer in the >largest-ever study of its kind. >> That tells you that >certainly there is decreased flow there. [ Pause in >captioning due to loss of audio signal ] > >> so we are going to test it using >neuropsychological testing and we are also going to be >doing brain imaging before and after treatment to see >if the brain images improve. >> Reporter: Now, laura >tells me that she is currently getting iv >antibiotics and she is getting better. Not perfect yet >but she is getting better. Now, the study at the new >york state psychiatric institute is recruiting >volunteers who have lyme and are willing to take >either i.V. Antibiotics or a placebo for ten weeks as >well as get scanned regularly. Hopefully, this will >find the answer to the question about the best >treatment for neurological lyme Now, one other >important reason for the study is that some doctors >who have given long-term i.V. Antibiotics to their >patients with chronic lyme have had their medical >licenses threatened because some experts say that's >unproven and dangerous therapy. To learn more about >our medical stories, log on to our website at >www.Newschannel4.Com. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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