"Lyme Disease" case definition upheld by IDSA (New)
Mort Zuckerman
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Subject: "Lyme Disease" case definition upheld by IDSA (New)
Date: Jun 7, 2010 3:43 PM
ARTICLE BY EUGENE SHAPIRO, BELOW
=======================================
True.
Whatever "Lyme Disease" is, it is
so imaginary that the thing invented to
prevent this non-disease, the first-ever
placebo vaccine:
http://www.actionlyme.org/UCONNS_ABUSE_OF_CZECH_CHILDREN.htm
caused what was classified as "serious"
adverse events in 20% of those children:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/108/1/123
Every aspect of "Lyme Disease" is fake.
The name, the diagnostics, the vaccine,
the treatment, and the experts.
Kathleen M. Dickson
http://www.actionlyme.org
http://www.actionlyme.org
==========================================
http://www.pediatricsupersite.com/print.aspx?rid=65278
Independent panel upholds Lyme disease guidelines
An independent panel of investigators upheld Lyme disease guidelines
from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, according to a report
published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The recommendations contained within the guidelines are “medically and
scientifically justified on the basis of all of the available
evidence,” the panel members wrote.
The IDSA released the guidelines in 2006. Shortly thereafter, they
became the subject of an antitrust investigation by Connecticut
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who claimed several authors had
conflicts of interest. Blumenthal halted his investigation after the
IDSA agreed to let an independent panel review the guidelines.
Story continues below↓
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Members of the review panel were selected through an open application
process, during which an ombudsman vetted all applicants for conflicts
of interest. Once selected, each panel member assumed responsibility
for a different section of the guidelines and conducted a thorough
review of the literature, received submissions from the public and
participated in an all-day public hearing.
Sections of the guidelines reviewed by the panel included:
* Tick bites and prophylaxis of Lyme disease.
* Early Lyme disease.
* Late Lyme disease.
* Post-Lyme disease syndromes.
* Human granulocytic anaplasmosis.
* Human babesiosis.
An open discussion followed the individual reviews. During the
discussion, panel members assessed the validity and appropriateness of
the section in their charge.
The eight-person panel unanimously approved 68 of 69 recommendations
made in the guidelines; the one non-unanimous decision was approved by
a 7-1 vote. Minor changes to the language or content were suggested,
but these suggestions did not affect the vote.
At the request of Blumenthal, the panel gave special consideration to
post-Lyme disease syndromes, which have been at the center of
controversy and publicity. After further discussion, the panel agreed
with the IDSA that extended antibiotic treatments are not useful in
patients with chronic subjective symptoms, and that the existence of
chronic persisting Lyme disease had not been confirmed scientifically.
Blumenthal also asked the panel to review a specific section in the
executive summary indicating that clinical findings alone could
diagnose erythema migrans but were not sufficient for diagnosing
extracutaneous manifestations, human granulocytic anaplasmosis or
babesiosis. The panel split evenly on whether to revise the statement
and, ultimately, made no changes.
However, the panel qualified its findings.
“The presence of certain classic complications of Lyme disease, such
as aseptic meningitis, atrioventricular nodal block, inflammatory
arthritis, and cranial or peripheral neuropathies, in a patient with
epidemiologic risk of Lyme disease and in whom alternative diagnoses
have been excluded or are unlikely, may be sufficiently convincing as
to constitute an exception to the statement in the executive summary,”
they wrote.
The panel suggested two changes when the guidelines are next updated:
an expanded section on diagnostic testing, and a new section on the
southern tick-associated rash illness that is currently presenting in
the South and parts of the East Coast.
PERSPECTIVE
The report of the independent panel is a victory for patients and for
science in that it confirmed that the original guidelines were based
on the best scientific evidence available. The independent panel was
chosen by a medical ethicist ombudsman who assured that none of the
members of the panel had any potential conflicts of interest.
Hopefully, this decision will allow IDSA and the scientists involved
to use their valuable time and resources to focus on moving forward
developing research and policies to help patients.
– Eugene Shapiro, MD
Infectious Diseases In Children Editorial Board member
Lantos PM. Clin Infect Dis. 2010;51:1-5.
"[Real] scientists are *fiercely* independent. That's the good
news."-- NIH's Top Fool, Anthony Fauci