Re: OPMC Protest

[Guest guest]

My thanks to Ellen for her outline, and my two copper-clad Lincoln's:

Governor Pataki

CC:

" Assemblyman N. Gottfriend Head Assembly Committee on Health " ,

" Senator Kemp Hannon Head, Senate Health Committee " ,

" Sen. ph Bruno Majority Leader NYS Sentate "

,

Elliot Spitzer NYS Attorney General ,

Assemblyman Sheldon Silver Speaker NYS Assembly

Dear Governor Pataki:

Although I am not a resident of New York State (I grew up in NJ, NY, MA, and

CT), I have been following the recent circus surrounding the form vs. substance

actions of your Office of Professional Medical Conduct of the New York State

Department of Health (OPMC). It parallels what has been happening here in Texas

and other states. While I am not an adherent to " a conspiracy under every rock " ,

the developing pattern is suspicious.

This issue threatens the future of the thousands of people in New York State who

suffer from Lyme disease and its frequently disabling effects; as well as the

like-wise afflicted hundreds of thousands nationwide, and the like-wise

afflicted millions world-wide.

Due to an accident of geography and politics (the " secrets " attached to Plum

Island, and the placement of the United Nations headquarters in your state) I

believe it should receive close attention by your office. It is now receiving

close scrutiny nationally, and inter-nationally.

As you may know, there is a clear cut controversy within the medical community

as to whether Lyme disease is always curable with short term antibiotics or

whether infection frequently persists and, therefore, requires longer term

antibiotic treatment. Recently, a number of physicians in New York State who

sometimes recommend longer term treatment for their Lyme Disease patients have

been reported for medical misconduct, along with many like-minded physicians

throughout the country.

While the members of Lyme Disease support groups have seen this as politically

motivated harassment causing considerable expenditure of time and money by the

physicians most involved in treating long term infection, many have had

confidence that an OPMC investigation would be impartial. Support groups sprout

like weeds when the perception that science, and government, aren’t meeting

needs, or are less than forthcoming in their dialogs.

However, a letter to a Lyme disease patient from Dr Marks, executive secretary

of the OPMC, dated December 21, 1999, has revealed otherwise. In explaining how

the OPMC determines what is a reasonable standard of care, Dr. Marks writes,

" Rarely, if ever, have the published guidelines indicated that anything more

that (sic) tow(sic)-three weeks of antibiotics are required to cure Lyme

Disease. "

This not only contradicts the documented experience of thousands of Lyme disease

patients, but also ignores a large body of medical literature in peer reviewed

journals validating the existence of persistent infection and recommending

longer term antibiotic treatment. If Dr. Marks had utilized any of his training

in deductive logic, the basis for the therapeutic medicine of today, a single

study (Stealth Pathogens L. H. Mattman Ph.D.) would have shown the ludicrous

nature of his statement:

The division time of Borrelia burgdorferi is very long. Most other pathogens

such as Streptococcus, or Staphylococcus, only take 20 minutes to double, the

doubling time of Borrelia burgdorferi is usually estimated to be 12-24 hours.

Since most antibiotics are cell wall agent inhibitors, they can only kill

bacteria when the bacteria begins to divide and form a new cell wall.

Since most antibiotics can only kill bacteria when they are dividing, a slow

doubling time means less lethal exposure to antibiotics. Most bacteria are

killed in 10-14 days of antibiotic. To get the same amount of lethal exposure

during new cell wall formation of a Lyme spirochete, the antibiotic would have

to be present 24 hours a day for 1 year and six months! Note: Antibiotics kill

bacteria by binding to the bacteria's ribosomes, and interrupting the formation

of cell wall proteins.

See: Persistence or Relapse of Lyme Disease - An Annotated Bibliography

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/persistence-special.html

See: Long-Term or Repeated Antibiotic Therapy for Lyme Disease – An Annotated

Bibliography

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/therapy-special.html

Moreover, Dr. Marks’ statement completely ignores the guidelines published in a

reputable reference, Conn's Current Therapies - 1997, which include a

recommendation of longer term antibiotic treatment. These guidelines were

written by Dr. ph Burrascano, Jr. , who, ironically, and , I believe not

coincidentally (there goes that pattern again), is one of the physicians

currently under OPMC investigation.

See: Lyme Disease - Conn's Current Therapy – 1997

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/6772/conns.txt

Since the OPMC begins with an orientation that seems to be biased against long

term antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease, we, therefore, cannot expect fair

trials for the physicians under investigation. We urge your immediate

intercession to ensure justice for these doctors.

Sincerely yours,

R.

R. - Euless, Texas

A Tick Made Me Sick

A TIICS Is Keeping Me That Way

(TIICS = The Insurance Industry Captive

Specialists)http://www.angelfire.com/biz/romarkaraoke/james.html

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