Long-term Antibiotics is not the Answer for Long-term Symptoms of Lyme Disease

The New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial pointing out that there was no evidence that treating Lyme disease with long-term antibiotics is effective in treating persistent symptoms of Lyme disease.  The infection with this disease does not persist after initial antibiotic treatment.  The editorial did not recommend any other treatment at this time.  However, a small group of physicians in the American Academy of Environmental Physicians that I am proud to belong to have used an allergy desensitization technique called Low-dose immunotherapy (LDI) to reduce the autoimmune response of Lyme disease with impressive results.

See the editorial in the March 31 issue of the NEJM and Google AAEM for more info on LDI.

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Eating Fish or Taking Fish Oils to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

An Editorial in the AMA journal summarized the limited evidence and concluded that it is indeed beneficial to increase fish intake to slow the progression of various neurogenic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.  The benefit exceeded the risk of eating fish, much of which is contaminated with mercury.  My advice is to be as sure as possible that your source of fish oil has been tested for the absence of mercury.  Further, a simple challenge test for mercury accumulating in the body should be done at least every 2-3 years for fish-eaters.  If the level is high, chelation can bring much of the mercury out of the body and brain.  This should increase the benefit of eating fish substantially.

See the Editorial on Fish Consumption in JAMA, Feb 2, 2016 issue.

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Could Statin Drugs do More Harm than Good?

A stunning article in the American Journal of Medicine questioned the widespread use of statin drugs.  At the present time, millions of patients are taking these drugs based on a computerized risk score predicting at least a 7.5% risk of having a heart attack over the next 10 years.  This is based on guesswork.  There is no proven benefit that statin drugs will reduce the risk.  Furthermore, after 15-20 years of taking a statin drug, there is a 363% increase in the incidence of diabetes, which is a major risk factor for vascular disease.  If you already have had a cardiovascular event, then statin drugs or at least red yeast rice are indicated.  Otherwise, maybe not.

 See the March, 2016 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.

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Are You at Risk for Silent Heart Attacks?

A recent report in Circulation from Wake Forest University revealed that 43% of heart attacks in middle-aged men were silent.  Patients did not have typical chest pain or shortness of breath.  Some of them had vague symptoms, such as fatigue.  From 20 to 60% of all heart attacks are silent.  Sometimes the first symptom is sudden death.  Get a CardioRisk test of the carotid arteries or an ultrafast CT scan to detect calcium deposits in the coronary arteries to see if you are at risk.  If you know you are at risk, strict control of BP and cholesterol, regular exercise, a great diet, and perhaps chelation therapy could save your life.

Silent heart attacks in Circulation magazine.

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