TIETO ON PARAS ASE

[soijuv]

Tallahassee Democrat lehti kertoo sivuillaan borrelioosista 14.9.2009:

"Borrelioosissa oikeaan diagnoosiin pääseminen on vaikeaa sillä tauti oireilee monin eri tavoin eikä nykyisten borrelioositestien luotettavuus ole kovin korkea. Borrelioosi diagnosoidaan usein virheellisesti esim. fibromyalgiaksi, krooniseksi väsymysoireyhtymäksi, Parkinsonin taudiksi, lupukseksi, ALS-taudiksi jne. Monissa sairaustapauksissa laboratoriotestit ovat olleet negatiiviset ja potilaiden oireiden on väitetty olevan psyykkisiä. Mikäli oikeaan diagnoosiin ei päästä potilaan kunto heikkenee vähitellen ja tauti voi myös tappaa. Borrelioosin hoito edellyttää usein voimakasta antibioottihoitoa."

Sivulla kerrotaan myös borrelioosielokuvasta "Under Our Skin". Elokuvaa esitetään sikäläisessä elokuvateatterissa 18 - 24.9.2009.

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 9909120307

Knowledge is best weapon against Lyme disease

Bonnie Holub ? Wakulla County ? September 12, 2009

At the Insectarium, I learned that 95 percent of all animal species on Earth are insects. Scientists estimate there are approximately 10 quintillion (10 followed by 18 zeroes) individual insects alive at any given time. And, among way too many other bug facts to mention, I learned that the largest butterfly found naturally in the United States is the giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), with a wingspan of 4-6 inches. You've probably seen one. They are common throughout Florida.

The visit to the Insectarium taught me a lot, but it is here, at home, where I received the most eye-opening education about another insect common to our area. Sandi Lanford, founder and president of The Lanford Foundation-Lifelyme Inc., has been giving me a crash course on ticks and tick-borne illnesses, specifically Lyme disease.

Lanford was diagnosed about eight years ago with Lyme disease, although it had gone undiagnosed for 27 years. "After a year-and-a-half of treatment, I finally got my life back," she said. "People need to know about this debilitating disease."

Lyme disease entered the news in the 1970s when a number of children near Lyme, Conn., were inexplicably getting sick. But sick is a mild word for what those infected by Lyme disease sometimes have to endure. In many cases, their lives and the lives of their families are turned upside down.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that enter the body while a tick is feeding on its prey. If the disease is identified and treated in the first few weeks after the bite, the patient usually does fine, with no obvious long-term effects. However, the longer the bacteria go unidentified and properly treated, the more damage they can do to multiple systems in the body. Symptoms that mimic a host of other diseases will appear at some future date. Usually this occurs when the immune system is compromised by a stress-producing event. Neurological problems, blurred vision, loss of speech, cognitive dysfunction, memory loss and joint pain can be manifestations of Lyme disease.

Diagnosis is tricky, because the disease can cause different symptoms in different individuals and the medical tests for Lyme disease are far from foolproof. Lyme disease has been misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, lupus and chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as a host of other maladies. In several cases, because the tests have come back negative, people with the disease have been told that their problems are psychosomatic and referred to psychiatrists. Unfortunately, when the diagnosis is incorrect, the patient doesn't receive appropriate treatment and continues to decline, with severe consequences. Lyme disease can be fatal. Treatment usually involves a powerful regimen of antibiotics.

An award-winning film, "Under Our Skin" by Andy Abrahams Wilson, documents the stories of several people who are battling Lyme disease, the agony they've experienced due to misdiagnosis, and how they've eventually received help, although for some, help may have come too late for them to lead a normal life. There's Mandy from Orlando, an athletic young woman who was eventually reduced to using a wheelchair. There's Jordan, a former park ranger in Nevada, who had to quit his job and thought of taking his own life. There's Dana, who toured with the musical group U2, all the while living with an almost unbearable pain. And then there are the children. Hearing their stories will pull at the heartstrings.

Wilson presents the film in the genre of a political thriller, because there is controversy surrounding the existence of "chronic" effects and long-term treatment of Lyme disease. According to the film, there are very few medical professionals throughout the United States who completely understand the disease.

The film runs about two hours. When I received the DVD, my plan was to view it in short segments, in more than one setting. However, the high quality of production, potentially life-changing information, powerful individual stories and medical controversy kept me in my seat until the ending credits.

The disease is rapidly increasing across the country. There are multiple known cases in Wakulla, Leon and other Big Bend counties, according to Lanford. "The best prevention against the disease is to be educated," she said.