LDA NEWS & UPDATES
March 2021
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A new center at Columbia University will open this summer to patients. The Cohen Center for Health & Recovery from Tick-Borne Diseases has been established through a $16M grant from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to Columbia. Brian Fallon, MD, will be Center Director, Shannon Delaney, MD, Co-Director. Patients at the Center will be invited to enroll in clinical trials, brain imaging, and neuropsychiatric studies. Physicians will be invited to annually submit treatment study ideas to the trials network for consideration. Read more.
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Researchers, Eugene Merzon, et al. have published findings in The FEBS Journal from a recent study examining correlations between the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and the lower likelihood of COVID‐19 infection.
The investigators cited aspirin’s numerous effects on various components of innate and adaptive immunity, and therefore, its ability to influence vulnerability to viral infections. They also note its widespread use during the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. Read more.
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Dr. John Aucott, Director of The Lyme Disease Research Center, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, et al. published the article, “Long-haul COVID: heed the lessons from other infection-triggered illnesses” in The Lancet.
According to Aucott, explanations of the long-term effects of COVID-19 are beginning to appear in medical literature, the first significant cohort study with a 6-month follow-up has been published, with more data expected to emerge. Read more.
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Pfizer has received priority review for their vaccine, TicoVac, which protects against tick-borne encephalitis. This tick-borne virus can cause meningitis and trigger long-term neurological symptoms in humans. If approved, the vaccine would potentially protect travelers and members of the United States military that are deployed to regions where the virus is common, such as Europe and parts of Asia. Read more.
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The use of botanical medicines in the fight against Babesia duncani is explored in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology by Johns Hopins’ Yumin Zhang and a research team.
The article states that although Babesia duncani was first described almost 30 years ago, due to treatment failures and undesirable side effects, the current treatment for human babesiosis has remained inadequate. Read more.
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Valneva and Pfizer announced that they have initiated a Phase 2 study for their Lyme disease vaccine candidate. This is currently the only active Lyme disease vaccine in clinical development.
This new study builds on previous studies, including new dose regimens as well as being the first clinical study to include children between the ages 5-17 years. Read more.
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@CovidAnalysis, a group of Ph.D. researchers and scientists, has put together a database of all ivermectin COVID-19 studies. The database includes 65 studies, 31 peer-reviewed, 44 with results comparing treatment and control groups. Read more.
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A randomized research study sponsored by Washington University School of Medicine seeks participants ages 30 and older, who have tested positive for COVID-19, and are currently experiencing mild symptoms.
The purpose of the study is to determine if the anti-depressant fluvoxamine can be used during the early onset of COVID-19 infections to prevent more severe symptoms such as shortness of breath. Read more.
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Babesiosis in 28 Countries |
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In this newly published review, "Emerging Human Babesisosis with 'Ground Zero' in North America," authors address the geographic distribution of the human-infecting Babesia spp., their phylogenetic relationship, and their tick vector worldwide. Species reviewed for human infection include, but are not limited to, B. microti, B. divergens, B. venatorum, B. duncani, B. crassa, and two yet unnamed Babesia species needing further investigation. Read more.
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Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Chief Data Scientist and Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health, Kristen Honey, recently gave an interview on HHS’s Lyme Innovation initiative with Nextgov. In the interview, Honey discusses various difficulties associated with Lyme disease and offered insights into the department’s continuing initiative to accelerate new advancements for patients. Read more.
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COVID pre-exposure prophylaxis for pregnant women is a critical issue as pregnant women are at higher risk for developing severe complications of COVID infections including preterm delivery, fetal demise, respiratory failure, and maternal death. As pregnant women initially may not be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines due to the unknown effects on mother and fetus, these women urgently need an option for protection from COVID when vaccine candidates are not available to them. Read more.
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BACKGROUND: Congress recently increased annual funding for research on Lyme and related tick-borne diseases at NIH by $29 million to a total of $63 million. Most of this is discretionary, although $10 million of it is mandatory for research specific to Lyme disease. In addition to this historic increase, there are opportunities for funding and research support for studies on maternal-fetal transmission of Lyme disease and the impact of pregnancy on immune response. Read more.
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The FY21 Tick-Borne Disease Research Program (TBDRP) Program Announcements managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) are now posted to the grants.gov (search grants by CFDA Number 12.420) and on the CDMRP website. Read more.
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"Borrelia burgdorferi Infection and Lyme Disease in North American Horses: A Consensus Statement," was published by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). Read more.
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The Lyme Disease Association Inc. is working with US Biologic to promote Lyme Disease Awareness with Biologic’s new awareness brochure and new flyer. Anyone can download and print both for free. Read more.
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