Case studies linking Borrelia and mental health (2)
The following abstracts show a clear connection between Borrelia and mental health disorders.
This page contains descriptions (h) to (m), other descriptions are on the Cases and studies (a) to (g) page.
h) Psychiatric and neurological presentations of Borrelial infection.
Dr B. A. Fallon and his team at Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, conducted extensive studies on both adults and children with Lyme disease. They described numerous psychiatric and neurological presentations of the disease, and demonstrated that it can mimic attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and multiple sclerosis. In another study, the same team found that panic disorder and mania could be caused by Borrelial infection.
i) Post-mortem brain tissue samples of Alzheimer's patients.
Scientists from Vancouver, Canada, and Lausanne, Switzerland, recently investigated post-mortem brain tissue samples from 14 patients who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease and compared them with 13 controls. All of the brains from the Alzheimer's patients were infected with Borrelia-type organisms, compared to none in the controls. From 3 of the Alzheimer's cases, genetic and molecular analyses of these spirochaetes were conducted to prove beyond doubt that they were Borrelia.
j) Geographical and Seasonal study of MS and schizophrenia.
Following the detailed statistical analysis of all published literature on schizophrenia (with the criterion that each study had to have detailed histories for at least 3000 patients) Swiss scientist, Dr Mark Fritzsche, was able to demonstrate that: "globally there is a striking correlation between seasonal and geographical clusters of both Multiple Sclerosis and Schizophrenia with the worldwide distribution of the Lyme bacteria." Yearly birth-excesses of such illnesses were found to mirror, with an intervening nine-month period, both the geographical and seasonal patterns of various types of Ixodes tick. He also went on to say, "In addition to known acute infections, no other disease exhibits equally marked epidemiological clusters by season and locality, nurturing the hope that prevention might ultimately be attainable".
k) Borrelia antibodies in CFS patients.
A study by the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Saarland in Homburg, Germany, demonstrated an association with Borrelia bacteria and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Blood samples were investigated from 1,156 healthy young males, with samples from the CFS patients being unidentified from those of the controls. The tests identified a significant number of CFS sufferers who had Borrelia antibodies, even though other clinical signs of Borreliosis were absent. It was stated that antibiotic therapy should be considered in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome who show positive Borrelia serology.
l) Aggression and Lyme disease.
Dr R. C. Bransfield in New Jersey, discovered that a significant number of Lyme patients exhibit aggression. Patients were described as having decreased frustration tolerance, irritability, and some episodes of explosive anger which he terms "Lyme rage". In relatively rare cases there was uncontrollable rage, decreased empathy, suicidal tendencies, suicide, homicidal tendencies, interpersonal aggressiveness, homicide and predatory aggression.
m) Special report: Highlights of the 2000 Institute on Psychiatric Services.
It has been well documented in numerous published medical studies that Borreliosis is associated with personality disorders and many forms of mental illness such as anxiety, depression, confusion, and aggressive behaviour, mild to moderate cognitive deficits, fatigue, memory loss and irritability. Consequently, the American Psychiatric Association recommends that specialist doctors, and councillors alike, should seek to rule out Borreliosis as a possible differential diagnosis, before commencing any form of psychological intervention.
References
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h) (1) Late Stage Neuropsychiatric Lyme Borreliosis.
Fallon, B.A., Schwartzburg, M., Bransfield, R., Zimmerman, B. et al.
Psychosomatics 1995; 36(3): 295-300
(2) Functional Brain Imaging and Neuropsychological Testing in Lyme Disease.
Fallon, B.A., Das, S., Plutchok, J.J., Tager, F. et al.
Clin. Infect. Dis. 1997; Suppl.1: 557-63. -
i) Borrelia burgdorferi Persists in the Brain in Chronic Lyme
Neuroborreliosis and may be associated with Alzheimer disease.
Miklossy, J., Khalili, K., Gern, L., Ericson, R.L., et al.
J. Alzheimer’s Dis. 2004; 6(6): 639-649. -
j) (1) Chronic Lyme Borreliosis at the root of Multiple Sclerosis - is a cure with
Antibiotics attainable?
Fritzsche, M.
Med Hypotheses 2005; 64(3): 438-48.
(2) Geographical and Seasonal Correlation of Multiple Sclerosis to Sporadic Schizophrenia.
Fritzsche, M.
Int. J. Health Geog. 2002; 1: 5. -
k) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Patients with Lyme Borreliosis.
Treib, J., Grauer, M.T., Haas, A., Langenbach, J. et al.
Eur. Neurol. 2000; 43(2): 107-9. -
l) Aggression & Lyme disease.
Bransfield, R.C.
14th International Scientific Conference on Lyme Disease and other Tick-borne Disorders. April 22-23, 2001, Hartford, Connecticut. -
m) Special report: Highlights of the 2000 Institute on Psychiatric Services.
Guardiano, J.J., von Brook, P.
Jan. 2001, 52(1): 37-42.
