By A. Rahman Ford, PNN Columnist

In a recent article in Scientific American, author Mary Beth Pfeiffer paints a startling portrait of Lyme disease in America.  She describes the “peril and menace” now associated with many forests, parks and even some backyards -- landscapes that Lyme disease-carrying ticks inhabit in ever-increasing numbers. 

“Although children are the most frequently diagnosed group and thousands of infected patients develop long-term infirmity every year, little has been done to curb the spread of the ticks,” Pfeiffer wrote. 

According to the article, the primary reason for the explosion in Lyme disease is that mainstream medicine continues to labor under the long-disproven myth that the disease is easy to diagnose and treat.  In truth, diagnosis is complex, and treatment options are woefully inadequate and sometimes even dangerous. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in the U.S.  It is transmitted by the bite of a blacklegged tick, or deer tick, that is infected with Borrelia burgdorferi or Borrelia mayonii bacteria. 

Deer ticks tend to thrive in woody or grassy areas.  Although most cases are reported from northeastern states like New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, states like Minnesota and Wisconsin have also reported cases. The geographic distribution seems to be expanding, along with an increase in the number of counties reporting Lyme cases.

In 2016, there were over 36,000 confirmed or probable cases of Lyme disease, although the actual number may be ten times as high. Common symptoms include a small red bump at the site of the tick bite, which can expand into a rash that forms into a bull’s-eye pattern.  Flu-like symptoms are also common. 

If Lyme disease is left untreated, multiple symptoms may emerge which may be dermatological, musculoskeletal, neurological and/or cardiovascular in nature.  Symptoms can include severe joint pain and swelling, meningitis (swelling of the brain), paralysis, numbness, weakness of the limbs and impaired muscle movement.  These symptoms can last for months or even years.  Because they tend to mimic the symptoms of other diseases, Lyme is often misdiagnosed.

There is no consistently reliable test for Lyme disease and diagnosing it can be tricky.  Oftentimes, patients do not present with a rash or any other common symptoms.  Laboratory tests, like enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which are designed to detect bacterial antibodies, can give false positives.  And the Western Blot test, used to confirm ELISA results, has no standard criteria for interpretation.

Treatment for Lyme disease is likewise problematic.  The standard course of treatment is a 14 to 21 day course of oral antibiotics.  If the patient presents with neurological symptoms, intravenous administration may be preferred.  According to the Mayo Clinic,  “after treatment, a small number of people still have symptoms, such as muscle aches and fatigue,  the cause of these continuing symptoms, known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, is unknown, and treating with more antibiotics doesn’t help.”

However, many holistic practitioners disagree, contending that the number of patients with post-treatment symptoms is far larger than estimated, and an extended course of antibiotics – or other treatment modalities – may be warranted.  Several of these physicians have had their licenses revoked, faced other disciplinary actions for ethics violations, or even been sent to prison.

Stem Cells and Lyme Disease

Given that the standard course of treatment fails many Lyme disease patients, alternative therapies are needed.  Stem cells may be a viable option to treat symptoms associated with Lyme disease syndrome because they are inflammatory in nature.  Mesenchymal stem cells, which may be readily obtained from bone marrow or adipose (fat) tissue, are known to possess immunomodulatory properties.  This means they could potentially lower inflammation and resolve the stubborn persistent Lyme symptoms that refuse to respond to conventional antibiotic therapies. 

Although the evidence for the efficacy of stem cell therapy in treating Lyme disease is largely anecdotal, the stories are compelling.

In one high-profile case, former E!’s Fashion Police host and Project Runway Junior judge Kelly Osbourne details her experience with Lyme disease in her memoir.  

In 2004, Osbourne was bitten by a tick from a reindeer at her father Ozzy’s 56th birthday party.  As a result of the bite, she suffered for a decade with “traveling pain” from a sore throat and stomach aches, which eventually led to a seizure on the set of Fashion Police.

 Osbourne was later diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed drugs that, in her words, “turned her into a zombie.”  She went from taking Ambien to Trazodone to painkillers to anxiety medication.

After visiting an alternative medical practitioner, Osbourne tested positive for Lyme disease.  Rather than try to treat the disease with antibiotics, she went to Germany for stem cell therapy.  That therapy was a success.  In her words, “I was experiencing emotions and feelings again.” 

Osbourne initially kept quiet about what she calls her “cure” because she feared retribution from pharmaceutical companies.  She has since become an advocate for stem cell therapy.

Patients suffering from chronic Lyme disease need options.  Stem cell therapy could be one of them.

A. Rahman Ford, PhD, is a lawyer and research professional. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and the Howard University School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Howard Law Journal. He earned his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rahman lives with chronic inflammation in his digestive tract and is unable to eat solid food. He has received stem cell treatment in China. 

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represent the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.