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LDA NEWS & UPDATES
April 30, 2024
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Guest Blog Topics: Cynthia Cobb, MSN, RN, CSN-NJ, School Nurses: Take Action Against Lyme Disease; Sarah Maxwell, PhD, County Level Tick-Borne Disease Data in the US; Luke Mears & Madison Pinckney, Duke Law Lyme Disease Advocacy Project; Judy Campbell, Lyme Fight; Richard Horowitz, MD, Doctor Interview; Kenneth Liegner, MD, Doctor Interview. | |
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Join in on an Amazing Tricky Tray Auction & Walk! Walking is optional! There are over 80 prizes available! Prizes have an accumulated value of over $6,000!
Auction Items: Sports Goods, Crystal & House Ware Items, Toys, Gift Certificates, Art, Garden Supplies, Pocketbooks, Specialty Baskets, & So Much More! Prizes are valued from $20 to $300.
100% of the money raised will go to families in need. Proceeds to Benefit the Lyme Disease Association’s LymeAid 4 Kids Fund. Read more on the LDA website.
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Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) funding announcements for Department of Defense (DOD) programs managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) have been released. The managing agent for the program announcements/funding opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) at the US Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). Pre-application deadline is June 26, 2024. Final application deadline is October 3, 2024. Read more. | |
Every Year, the LDA provides written input to the U.S. House of Representatives Lyme Disease Caucus for its consideration in formulating its requests to the Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies, House Committee on Appropriations. Following are a few examples from FY2023 and FY2024 appropriations, where LDA submitted language that was used by the Lyme Caucus and was included in House report language for FY2023 and Explanatory Materials for FY2024. Read more. | |
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On March 7, 2024 a meeting was hosted by the CDC that consisted of a small group of expert-advocates to develop the CDC’s understanding of the lived experience of Lyme disease. The goal of this meeting was to compile a list of individual questions to understand more about a future Lyme disease vaccine, and the VLA15 vaccine in particular, given it was the only vaccine candidate being evaluated in phase 3 clinical trials as of the date of this meeting. Pat Smith reported on this meeting in the President’s Blog – In-depth Synopsis of Advocate Vaccine Meeting Hosted by CDC. The following is a list of all the questions contributed by the participants of the meeting. These questions were shared with a Pfizer representative by the CDC on March 8, 2024. As of April 30, 2024, there has been no response by Pfizer. Read more. | |
BMC Infectious Diseases (Dong, Y., et al.) 04.22.24, published “Post-COVID reactivation of latent Bartonella henselae infection: a case report and literature review.” In this case review, authors describe a 54-year-old male that presented with a “painful left upper arm mass.” The mass was resolved with antibiotic treatment. The man then experienced an infection with COVID which resulted in rapid regrowth of the mass. Additionally, he experienced pulmonary symptoms which included pleural effusion. The cause of the man’s symptoms was unknown until next generation sequencing (NGS) was performed. Read more. | |
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Frontiers in Immunology (Geetha Parthasarathy) 04.03.2024, published “Fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitors mitigate the neuropathogenicity of Borrelia burgdorferi or its remnants ex vivo.” Parthasarathy discovered a type of drug that had previously been studied for cancer treatment has shown to significantly reduce inflammation and cell death in brain and nerve tissues infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. Read more. | |
Journal of Infectious Diseases & Therapy (Kinderlehrer, DA), 04.25.24 published “Chronic Lyme Disease: Why Is This Still Controversial?” In this article, Lyme Literate Medical Doctor, Daniel Kinderlehrer, MD describes that multiple mechanisms may be responsible for development of chronic Lyme disease. He evaluates many factors including the persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection; coinfections with other pathogens; inflammation associated with dysregulation of the immune system resulting in chronic systemic inflammation, autoimmunity, and mast cell activation; and autonomic nervous system dysregulation. Kinderlehrer implores physicians to thoroughly investigate the underlying mechanisms of chronic symptoms in patients rather than relying on the flawed Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) guidelines. Read more. | |
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Labroots, Carmen Leach, 04.01.24, reports on “A Better Way to ID Powassan Virus, an Emerging Tick-Borne Disease.” Leach reported that researchers developed a better PCR-based test that can detect and measure the level of virus for Powassan virus and Powassan virus lineage II (deer tick virus) in deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis). Read more. | |
The Journal of AABB Transfusion (Tonnetti, l., et al.) 03.16.24 published a case report, “A case of transfusion-transmission Anaplasma phagocytophilum from leukoreduced red blood cells.” Authors describe a case of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in a 64-year-old woman who was receiving weekly blood transfusions. The woman had gastric adenocarcinoma and multiple myeloma. A week after receiving a red blood cell transfusion, she presented with persistent fevers, hypotension, and shortness of breath. Read more. | |
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Simon Fraser University, Jeff Hodson (04.11.24) reports, “Ant pheromones may help protect hikers and campers from ticks.” Researchers from Simon Fraser University found that ant pheromones used as a topical repellent, or as an environmental barrier, may protect people from tick bites. The study showed that specific pheromones from ants, even when ants were removed from the area, caused ticks to avoid the surfaces where ants had been. Read more. | |
University of Virginia News, Sam Caneda (04.10.24) reported, “She Aided the Team Taking the Bite Out of Tick-Borne Lyme Disease.” Toriana “Tori” Vigil, a University of Virginia (UVA) chemical engineering Ph.D. student was the advisor to US Air Force Academy students who won a gold medal for the idea of the “Lyme-AID” biosensor patch at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (IGEM) competition in Paris in 2023. Read more. | |
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LymeX Diagnostics Prize News (04.10.24) announced that Phase 3 of the LymeX Diagnostics Prize competition has launched. This competition, led by The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, is possible through a fiscal sponsorship with the Digital Harbor Foundation. The goal of the LymeX multiphase competition is to encourage development of urgently needed Lyme disease diagnostics toward Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review. Read more. | |
ACS Infectious Diseases (Vydyam, P., et al.) 04.02.2024, published, “Effectiveness of Two New Endochin-like Quinolones, ELQ-596 and ELQ-650, in Experimental Mouse Models of Human Babesiosis.” In this study, researchers found that Endochin-like quinolones (ELQs), a class of small molecule antimicrobials, are effective against a wide range of protozoan parasites that affect humans. Read more. | |
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News8 reporter, Vanessa Blasi (04.02.2024) published, “Study: Lyme-disease-carrying ticks found hiding in Connecticut stone walls.” Blasi reports findings of the study conducted by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station which looked at habitat factors connected with increased numbers of blacklegged ticks on 42 properties in Guilford, Connecticut. Researchers determined that grassy areas in proximity to stone walls had almost three times the number of ticks as areas without this habitat feature. It is believed that stone walls provide a more permanent habitat feature for ticks than woodpiles. Read more. | |
Ohio’s Country Journal writer, Tim McDermott (Ohio State University Extension Educator) 03.31.24 published, “Asian longhorned ticks and Theileria in 2024.” McDermott warns of the increase of medically important tick species in Ohio and the growing risk to humans, companion animals, and livestock from transmission of pathogens. Just 20 years ago, Ohio was home to only one species of medically important tick, and by 2024 that number has grown to 5. Read more. | |
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Virtual - June 4th - 10th, 2024
DrTalks is proud to announce the upcoming Healing from Lyme Disease Summit in a significant stride toward combating tick-borne illnesses. This free virtual event, happening from June 4 to 10, 2024, invites individuals affected by these debilitating diseases to embark on a journey of hope and healing. It aims to educate attendees on the various treatment options available beyond the conventional approach.
For more information about the summit and to register, please visit: https://drtalks.com/lyme-summit-2024/
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The Lyme Disease Association Inc. (LDA) does not charge any membership fees. Most of our
materials are free to download and most of our videos are free on YouTube. Our nationwide
doctor referral system is free to access. Printed brochures can be ordered for the cost of S&H.
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888-366-6611 Toll Free Info Line
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