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LDA NEWS & UPDATES
January 31, 2024
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We miss you, TC.
Over the decades, I have been fortunate to work with some of the finest people I have ever known. These are the people who have been fighting against influential individuals preventing the diagnosis and treatment of thousands of Lyme patients—instead should be working for those who have helped provide or enable treatment.
One of the humblest, bravest, brightest persons I have known—and a dear friend—is Tincup, aka, Lucy Barnes. I have had the greatest respect for TC, (how I knew her best). She was very grass roots and did not seek to have a large group, but worked mostly on her own, sometimes partnering with other Lyme groups or advocates across the country. She was no nonsense and worked day and night, when sick or less sick, to investigate all avenues to stop the perpetrators who deny chronic Lyme disease.
We often talked well into the night to hash out what priorities needed to be addressed and how. She had a way of talking you into doing something you really may not have wanted to do. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “speak softly but carry a big stick; you will go far.” She spoke softly but you knew the stick was back there somewhere… Read more.
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Journal of Infectious Disease, Vydyam, P., et al,. 01.03.2024, published ahead of print “Tafenoquine-Atovaquone Combination Achieves Radical Cure and Confers Sterile Immunity in Experimental Models of Human Babesiosis.” In this study, researchers demonstrate that treatment with tafenoquine (antimalarial drug) inhibits the growth of multiple Babesia species in vitro, shows great effectiveness against both Babesia microti and Babesia duncani in mice, and protects against lethal infection in animals from atovaquone-sensitive and resistant of B. duncani strains. Read more. | |
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Choukri Ben Mamoun, PhD
Read the article.
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Pharmaceutical Technology, 01.29.2024, published an analyst comment, “Moderna leads the development of mRNA vaccines in infectious diseases.” The market for global messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines currently consists entirely of vaccines for Covid-19, however mRNA vaccines for other infectious diseases are in late-stage development with several pharmaceutical companies, with Moderna leading this development. Read more. | |
The 19th Vector Control Advisory Group (VCAG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) meeting took place from 09.27/28.2023. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Audrey Lenhart and Dr. Leanne Robinson. A report summarizes the proceedings and outcomes of the meeting. VCAG provided feedback and advice to applicants who had made submissions relating to the following interventions, including systemic endectocide treatment for Lyme disease. Read more. | |
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Harvard Magazine’s, Jonathan Shaw, 01/02.2024, published “Deciphering Lyme Disease.” Shaw describes the work of Jacob Lemieux, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard University, that began in 2017. The project of whole-genome sequencing of hundreds of samples of Borrelia burgdorferi took nearly 6 years. Findings from this study have illuminated the reasons why people experience such variable severity of illness, and why these variabilities in individuals are also variable by geography. Read more. | |
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The People’s Pharmacy, Joe Graedon, 01.15.2024, published “What Are Authorized Generic Drugs and Are They Better?” In this article, Graedon (pharmacologist) discusses potential dangers, concerns and benefits of generic drugs versus authorized generic (AG) and brand name drugs.
Manufacturers of brand names are not required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reveal the proprietary formulation of their products. Graedon explains that generic drugs are reverse engineered to produce a formulation as close as possible to the brand name product, but they are only approximations, not identical. Differences in formulation can have impacts on patients. The AG drugs on the other hand, are identical to brand name drugs, without the labeling of brand name and can save patients money while delivering the same product. Read more.
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360 Dx published announcement 01.25.2024, that the diagnostic laboratory research company, DiaSorin, has submitted a new test for the early identification of Lyme disease, for approval by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).The Liaison LymeDetect test, an immunoassay, was developed in partnership with Qiagen.
This test is powered by DiaSorin’s Liaison analyzers combined with Qiagen’s QuantiFeron interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) technology. The test incorporates three chemiluminescent assays for detection of IgG, IgM, and T-cell mediated responses to Borrelia burgdorferi infections, and is to be used in conjunction with clinical signs and symptoms of Lyme disease. Read more.
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Ontario OUT of DOORS reporter, Matthew Robbins, 01.22.2024, published the online article, “Winter ticks threaten moose.” In this article Robbins reports that although the winter tick(Dermacentor albipictus) is not new to the province of Ontario, the trend of increasing winter tick populations due to impacts of climate change are likely relevant to Ontario. Read more. | |
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iScience (Shin, N., et al.) 01.19.2024, published “Altered gene expression linked to germline dysfunction following exposure to DEET.” In this article, researchers evaluated the impacts of DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), a commonly used insect and tick repellent, on the reproduction process of nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans.
Internal DEET levels within the range detected in human biological samples, caused several alterations and disruptions of gene expression in C. elegans. DEET exposure was linked to impaired meiosis (process in sexually-reproducing animals that reduces the number of chromosomes in a cell before reproduction) and compromised genomic integrity. DEET exposure was also linked to chromosomal abnormalities, impaired early embryogenesis (early development and formation of the embryo) and mitochondrial and germline dysfunction. Read more.
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Journal of Vector Borne Diseases (Shah, J., et al.) 12.2023, published “Recombinant protein immunoblots for differential diagnosis of tick-borne relapsing fever and Lyme disease.” In this article, authors review the application of line immunoblots (IBs) that are used to detect antibodies in patient sera for both diagnosis and differentiation of Tick-Borne Relapsing (TBRF) and Lyme disease (LD). Read more. | |
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Tropical Medicine Infectious Disease (Kouroupis, D., et al.) 01.19.2024, published “Aseptic Meningitis Linked to Borrelia afzelii Seroconversion in Northeastern Greece: An Emerging Infectious Disease Contested in the Region.” In this case report, authors describe a case of aseptic meningitis in a young woman that was associated with antibodies against B.afzelii, a prevalent Lyme bacteria in Europe. This patient had no relevant travel history outside of her region, Thasos Island in Northeastern Greece. Read more. | |
PR Newswire,01.15.2024, reports that according to the DelveInsight Business Research, LLP analysis, “Lyme Disease Treatment Market is Expected to Showcase Significant Growth by 2032.” Many pharmaceutical companies are in development of preventative vaccines and novel Lyme disease drugs expected to be available commercially over the next eight years. Key companies contributing to the market increases include Pfizer, ModernaTX, Inc., Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Valneva, Cortene, Blue Lake Biotechnology, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Aegis Life, Abzyme Therapeutics, and others. Read more. | |
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Science Direct (Jackson, C.D., et al.) 01.13.2024, published “Sleep fragmentation disrupts Lyme arthritis resolution in mice.” In this study, researchers used a mouse model to investigate the effect of disrupted sleep on the progression and resolution of joint inflammation in Lyme arthritis.
Findings demonstrated a significant delay in resolution of Lyme arthritis (measured by swelling of joints, severity scores of arthritis, and decreased bacterial clearance from joints) when initiation of sleep fragmentation occurred at the peak of arthritis inflammation. Poor sleep may interrupt clearance of Lyme spirochetes and may increase both duration and severity of disease. Read more.
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The People’s Pharmacy, Terry Graedon, 01.04.2024, published “How Informed Are Patients Who Sign Consent Forms?” In this article, the author investigates how consent forms work, or fail, to inform patients of the risks of particular procedures/treatments.
The author found that according to a JAMA Internal Medicine (12.11.2023) analysis of more than 100 hospital procedure consent forms, the majority were composed of complex language that might prove difficult for general patient understanding. Read more.
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MassLive, Greta Jochem, 1.3.2024, reports on “Lawsuit over at-home Lyme disease test gets dismissed after settlement.” This article reports on the dismissal of a class action lawsuit against LetsGetChecked, a company offering an at-home Lyme disease test. The lawsuit was filed in Jun by a Western Massachusetts woman and TruthCures, a Kansas-based nonprofit group, claiming that the tests were deceptive and inaccurate. The case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice by the filers, meaning it cannot be brought again in the future, following a confidential settlement. Read more. | |
An article on Peoria Standard.com, by Peoria Standard, 12.27.2023, reports on “New Illinois Laws Taking Effect in 2024.” Illinois Representative Swanson proposes House Bill HB 2584, which will allow the Department of Natural Resources to issue Lyme disease research decals with the proceeds going towards funding research on Lyme disease in Illinois. NBC Chicago reports that “$10 of each issuance and $23 of each renewal will go to the Tick Research, Education and Evaluation Fund, which will be paid as grants to the Illinois Lyme Association.” Read more. | |
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In a Valneva.com press release on 01.04.2024, the specialty vaccine company announced that members of its management team including Thomas Lingelbach, CEO and Peter Bühler, CFO will hold investor meetings January 8 – 10, 2024 during the 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, in San Francisco. A virtual meeting will also be held at the Oddo BHF Forum on January 15, 2024. Read more. | |
Spectrum News 1 journalist, Viktoria Hallikäär, 01.03.2024, reports “N.Y. Lyme disease study aims to get preventative vaccine approved.” The Valneva/Pfizer Lyme vaccine candidate is in phase three study across many places in Pennsylvania (PA) and New York (NY). Guthrie, NY is one of the locations where vaccine testing is ongoing with trial participants ranging from ages 9 to 90. Testing began in 2002 and will end in 2025, with potential for a new Lyme disease vaccine to be on the market by 2026. Read more. | |
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GlobeNewswire, Sixty Degrees Pharmaceuticals, 12.26.2023, reports on "60 Degrees Pharma Announces IRB Approval of Phase IIA Study to Evaluate Tafenoquine for Babesiosis, an Emerging Tick-Borne Disease; Type C Meeting Re-Scheduled by FDA to January 17, 2024." This article from 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. highlights several key updates and developments regarding their investigational drug, tafenoquine, for the treatment of babesiosis, an emerging tick-borne disease. Read more. | |
Children’s National Hospital – Congenital Infection Program has launched a pilot study being led by Sarah Mulkey, MD, PhD, “Pregnancy and Early Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Following In Utero Lyme Disease Exposure.” This study is funded by the Clinical Trials Network for Lyme and Other Tick-borne Diseases which is supported by a grant from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, the largest private funder of Lyme and tick-borne disease research in the country. Read more. | |
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Task & Purpose, Patty Neiberg, 12.19.2023, reports on “Army Combat Uniform’s insect repellent at center of fraud case.” The article discusses allegations made by the Department of Justice against Insect Shield LLC and its late founder, Richard Lane, regarding the rigging of test results for bug-repellent Army Combat Uniforms. The complaint suggests that the company falsely tested and misrepresented the effectiveness of insect repellents applied to uniforms under federal contracts worth over $63 million. This negligence potentially left soldiers exposed to diseases like Zika and Lyme disease due to incorrect application or inadequate levels of bug repellent. Read more. | |
ATTENTION!
Advocate Tincup, aka, Lucy Barnes, passed away. Go to first article above for details.
DO YOU WANT TO MESSAGE TINCUP's, aka, LUCY BARNES' FAMILY?
Go to: https://lymediseaseassociation.org/comments-to-tincups-family/?
You can send a message which LDA will forward to her family. If you already sent one to LDA about it, you will need to resend it in this form for it to be sent to her family. Thanks.
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