MS is an Infectious Disease Part 2: MS and Lyme Disease

Since the early 1900s, various researchers have reported spirochete bacteria similar to Borrelia (which causes Lyme disease), in the central nervous system (CNS) of MS patients, but not in healthy people. Neurosyphilis, a sister infection to Lyme disease, causes many of the same neurological symptoms found in multiple sclerosis. This together with more recent evidence has resulted in some researchers and practitioners believing that Lyme disease is one of the main infections that cause multiple sclerosis.

 

In 1884, Pierre Marie was one of the first researchers to believe that multiple sclerosis was caused by infection.[i]

Neurosyphilis

Neurosyphilis is a spirochetal bacterial infection of the brain or spinal cord. It usually occurs in people who have had untreated syphilis for many years. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that has three stages of infection: primary, secondary and tertiary stages. The tertiary stage of syphilis can affect many different organs including the nervous system, causing neurosyphilis.

Symptoms of Neurosyphilis:

• severe headaches
• muscle weakness and/or trouble with muscle movements, spasticity
• trouble focusing, confusion, personality change, dementia, problems with memory, thinking and/or decision making
• changes in vision, blindness
• hearing loss, tinnitus
• dizziness or vertigo
• paralysis.

Lyme disease

Lyme disease is caused by vector born parasitic infections such as bacteria, viruses and protozoa that are spread via ticks, mosquitoes and other biting insects. Common Lyme co-infections include Lyme borreliosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis and ehrlichiosis.

Borrelia is a corkscrew shaped bacterium also known as a spirochete that belongs to the same family as the bacteria that causes syphilis. Borrelia is the most common Lyme disease infection.

MS and spirochete studies

CNS lesions in MS, syphilis and Lyme Disease are similar in that they:[ii]

• wrap around small blood vessels
• spread via the perivenous sinuses of the CNS
• are rich in immune cells.

From 1909 until the mid 1950’s, many researchers believed that MS was caused by a spirochete type bacteria because of its similarity to other diseases like syphilis (which was also caused by spirochetal bacteria) and because of the abundant research published in Europe and other countries linking spirochetes and MS.

The following are just a few examples of such studies.

Visit www.LiveDiseaseFree.com/ms-infections to review a more comprehensive list of studies linking MS and Lyme disease.

Spirochetes were often isolated from MS patients by inoculating various animals with MS spinal fluid and by special silver staining of the CNS tissue of MS cases.

In 1911, Buzzard believed that because MS resembled neurosyphilis, MS must be caused by a similar bacterium. He injected animals with material from multiple sclerosis patients but was unable to isolate the bacteria from the animals.[iii]

In 1917, Steiner and Kuhn found spirochetes in the spinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis by inoculating rabbits and guineapigs with blood and spinal fluid from MS patients.

In 1921, Speer wiped the surface of an MS plaque from the fresh autopsy of a deceased MS patient and observed spiral organisms moving under the microscope.[iv]

A few years later, Schroeder reported finding black spiral filaments in the lesions of two patients dying from MS.[v]

In 1925, Adams, Blacklock and M’Cluskie were able to show spirochetes under the microscope while examining fluid from the brains of monkeys and rabbits that were injected with the spinal fluid taken directly from MS cases. The brain fluid was examined for several months after inoculation, when the animals developed signs of illness. The spirochetes found in these animals were identical to those described by Steiner in 1917.[vi]

In 1957, Simons isolated spirochetes directly from the spinal fluid of multiple sclerosis patients.

In 1957, Time Magazine reported that a Philadelphia bacteriologist successfully cultured a microbe that looked like a spirochete from the spinal fluid of 78% of MS patients studied and she found no spirochetes in healthy subjects. She believed that MS is caused by the spirochete and early treatment should lead to an improvement of the disease.[vii]

She devised a culture medium in which fluids from known MS cases were inoculated. After 1 to 2 weeks incubation, several spirochetes were found under dark field and phase contrast microscopy. Cultures from the spinal fluid of healthy individuals and patients with other neurological diseases were negative and remain sterile after one year’s incubation.

Borrelia spirochetes are difficult to grow. They require a specific medium and an anaerobic environment.

In 1958, a follow up study found living spirochetes in 18.5% of MS patients and healthy control fluids were sterile of spirochetes. Yet more evidence that spirochetes were present in MS cases, but not in healthy participants.

More recently, Lyme expert Dr. Klinghardt reported that at least 90% of his MS patients test positive for Borrelia. Watch Under Our Skin video.

Pathologist Dr. Alan MacDonald discovered Lyme spirochetes in the spinal fluid of MS subjects and Borrelia spirochetes in the myelin sheath of brain nerve cells in Alzheimer’s patients.

View the images here on Pam Bartha’s masterclass training.

If Borrelia is present in the CNS of MS patients and other neurological diseases, and it is known to infect the myelin sheath of nerve cells, is it possible that Borrelia could infect the nerve cells in MS as they do in Alzheimer’s? Surely this would cause a strong immune response.

This evidence debunks the theory that the immune system is attacking nerve tissue for no apparent reason. In reality, immune cells are trying to destroy parasites that are near nerve cells or have infected the myelin of nerve cells.

The immune cells are just trying to defend us. They are doing what they are designed to do.

Excerpt from the book, “Why Can’t I Get Better?” by Dr. Horowitz. (2013)

“Multiple authors in the medical literature propose that MS is most likely caused by an infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease. There at least five reasons for the hypothesis that Lyme is the basis for some cases of Multiple Sclerosis infection:

1. Spirochetes have been documented in MS pathology specimens.
2. Spirochetal flagellin (the tail of Borrelia burgdorferi that allow it to move through the body) is immunologically very similar to human myelin.
3. The demyelination process in MS and Lyme disease is also similar; they both can cause inflammation in the eye and in the spinal cord, leading to a loss of vision and difficulty walking, making it difficult to differentiate between the two diseases clinically.
4. If a physician were to do a spinal tap trying to differentiate multiple sclerosis from neurological Lyme disease, they would find extremely similar results. As with multiple sclerosis infection, central nervous system infection with B. burgdorferi can cause an increased protein synthesis with IgG antibodies, lymphocytic pleocystosis (increased lymphocytes in the spinal fluid), increased protein, increased plasma cells, and oligoclonal bands. Lyme that affects the central nervous system can produce both oligoclonal bands that react with B. burgdorferi and ones that do not.
5. We find some of the cystic structures of Lyme disease in the central nervous system of patients with MS. The cyst forms are one of the means by which Borrelia burgdorferi can persist in the body for extended periods of time, under extremely adverse conditions, and reactivate into normal mobile spirochetes when the conditions are right. Perhaps certain environmental factors (ex. low vitamin D) or co-infections with other organisms, such as Chlamydia are responsible for Borrelia coming out of hiding and reactivating the cysts, driving demyelination and MS-type symptoms in certain patients.

One of the mysteries that has challenged my medical practice is that as more and more patients come for help, a large number present with symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Those coming for help said that the traditional medical establishment had failed to provide them with answers for their illnesses. Why is this the case?

Patients with multiple sclerosis often complain of intermittent tingling and numbness in different parts of their bodies, and MRIs of their brains can show varying amounts of white spots. Both of these symptoms and findings are seen in both Lyme disease and MS, and since some patients have negative serum Lyme ELISAs, they are often told by neurologists that they have MS and are given the ABC regimen, or Rebif. If these drugs don’t help, patients are told that they must have “relapsing remitting” form of the disease, in which the symptoms come and go, or a chronic, progressive form, and are told to remain on these drugs to stabilize their symptoms. However, just as with the patients diagnosed with lupus or with rheumatoid arthritis, the drugs may not help relieve their symptoms, or even if they do, we may be treating symptoms and not getting to the true, underlying cause of the disease process.

What is the link between Lyme disease and MS? Do Lyme disease and/or co-infections somehow provoke the MS autoimmune reaction, just as it can do with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other inflammatory disorders? Dr. Stephen Phillips, past president of ILADS, has presented evidence at scientific conferences that there is an association between MS and Lyme disease. He also reported treating an abnormally high number of MS patients in his Lyme practice. Years earlier, Dr. Patricia Coyle of SUNY- Stony Brook presented research on how to differentiate between MS and Lyme at a Lyme Disease Foundation conference. Her work focused on the following:

• Both cause optic neuritis, inflammation of the optic nerve, and blindness.
• Both cause white spots or demyelinating lesions visible on an MRI scan of the brain.
• Both could cause paresthesia -tingling and numbness of the extremities.
• Both can cause bladder dysfunction.
• Both have relapsing, remitting nature.
• Both diseases can cause elevations of myelin basic protein (MBP) and oligoclonal bands (immunoglobulins) to appear in the spinal fluid.

The primary difference between the two diseases seemed to be that with MS there were more white matter lesions on an MRI and higher amounts of myelin basic protein and oligoclonal bands present on the spinal tap. Moreover, Lyme disease did not usually cause demyelinating lesions in the cervical or thoracic spine. So there were some differences, but the boundaries between the two diseases are easily blurred, and one disease could certainly be mistaken for the other.”

From the Mayo Clinic Website

“Untreated, Lyme disease can spread to other parts of your body for several months to years after infection, causing arthritis and nervous system problems… Visit your doctor even if signs and symptoms disappear — the absence of symptoms doesn’t mean the disease is gone.”

From the National MS Society Website:

“Lyme disease can cause delayed neurologic symptoms similar to those seen in multiple sclerosis (MS) such as weakness, blurred vision caused by optic neuritis, dysesthesias (sensations of itching, burning, stabbing pain, or “pins and needles”), confusion and cognitive dysfunction, and fatigue. Lyme disease symptoms may also have a relapsing-remitting course.

In addition, Lyme disease occasionally produces other abnormalities that are similar to those seen in MS, including positive findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain and analysis of the CSF.

These similarities in symptoms and test results have led some people with MS to seek testing for the presence of antibodies to Borrelia, to determine if their neurologic symptoms are the result of Lyme disease or truly MS. The distinction is important because Lyme disease, especially when treated early, often responds to antibiotic therapy, whereas MS does not.”

MS and antibiotics

Borrelia responds to antibiotics, especially in the early stage of infection.

Several studies found that a significant number of MS patients prescribed minocycline and doxycycline (antibiotics that treat Lyme) responded positively to these antibiotics, especially in the early stages of MS.

A 2017 study investigated if the antibiotic minocycline could reduce the risk of conversion from a first MS attack (clinically isolated syndrome) to multiple sclerosis. Interestingly, this study was supported by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. Their conclusion: “This trial showed that the risk of conversion from a clinically isolated syndrome to multiple sclerosis at 6 months was significantly lower with minocycline than with placebo and all MRI outcomes at 6 months favored minocycline over placebo.”

This study showed a significant decrease in the progression of MS, especially in the first six months. It’s strange that this was supported by the MS society and yet they state on their website that antibiotic use does not help MS patients.

In four clinical trials, the use of minocycline resulted in less lesions, less relapses, less inflammation, smaller lesions sizes, minimal side effects and less disease severity in the first 6 months of the study, but not at 24 months.

Review our blog post Does Antibiotic Therapy Help MS?

Other similarities between Borrelia and MS

Neuroborreliosis and MS are both chronic diseases in which symptoms relapse and remit and patients experience varying periods of remission.

Spirochetal diseases such as Lyme disease are common in animals. High MS incidence occurs in rural areas and where there is a history of house pets.[viii]

Lyme disease can damage blood vessels. This is very common in spirochetal diseases. MS is considered a vascular disorder.

Borrelia is capable of infecting the CNS very quickly.

Both Lyme disease and MS demonstrate lesions and MRI scans of neuroborreliosis can mimic those of multiple sclerosis.

Globally, the prevalence of MS parallels the distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi, and in America and Europe, the birth excesses of those who develop MS later in life exactly mirror the seasonal distributions of Borrelia transmitting ticks. No other disease shows equally marked epidemiological clusters with respect to season and location.[ix]

Testing and diagnosis of Lyme disease

Being infected with Borrelia parasite doesn’t always lead to clinical illness because an infected person’s immune system may contain it naturally. Therefore, a positive test doesn’t mean an active Lyme infection. Many parasites can cause neurological symptoms.

There are approximately 30 species of Borrelia, some of which are more responsible for neurological illness, while others are more responsible for arthritic or skin conditions.

Early symptoms of neuroborreliosis:

• aseptic meningitis
• optic neuritis
• encephalomyelitis – inflammation of the brain
• transverse myelitis – inflammation of the spine
• facial nerve palsy
• spine pain, sensory loss.

The Western blot test often gives a false negative test result.

Other parasites can weaken the immune system, making a person more susceptible to Lyme disease. Thus, the state of one’s microbiome is very important in their recovery from MS and Lyme disease.

Oral antibiotics like doxycycline are not effective in treating chronic Lyme infections in the CNS.

How to recover from Lyme disease and MS

Recovery from chronic Lyme and MS requires a strategic plan that includes:

• The Live Disease Free diet, which reduces food to parasites
• Strategies that supports the body
• The removal of toxins from the environment
• A layering of treatments to treat large and small parasites
• Building a healthy microbiome and lifestyle.

The Live Disease Free Plan is a proven, strategic program that helps people play an active role in their recovery from chronic disease by learning and implementing these steps so they can get their health and life back.

Learn more about The Live Disease Plan

There are real solutions to recover from parasites today!

To restore health, we must focus on treating the cause of inflammation, which are parasites. First, identify the enemy (parasites), then support the body and treat the parasites while following a holistic approach. When parasitic infections are treated effectively, we can overcome inflammation or disease.

If you’re frustrated with the fact that our standard of care STILL doesn’t offer a real solution for treating MS and other diseases, then click on the link below to watch Pam Bartha’s free masterclass training and discover REAL solutions that have allowed Pam and many others to live free from MS and other diseases.

CLICK Here to watch Pam’s masterclass training

Or take the Health Blocker Quiz to see if you could have parasite infections

 

References:

[i] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7152154/#bb0615

[ii] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0306987788900230?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=8d1988ca3a188417

[iii] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673601600850

[iv] Speer, E.: Spirochatenfund im menschlichen Zentralnervensystem bei multipler Sklerose, Munch. Med. Wchschr., 68:425, 1921.

[v] Schroeder, G. E.: Sclerose en plaques et spirochetes, Rev. Neurol., 41:785, 1924.

[vi] https://www.jstor.org/stable/44112242

[vii] Ichelson, R.: Cultivation of spirochete from spinal fluids of multiple sclerosis cases and normal controls, Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med., 95:57, 1957.

[viii] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0306987788900230?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=8d1989d22f048417

[ix] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15617845/#:~:text=burgdorferi%2C%20and%20in%20America%20and,of%20Borrelia%20transmitting%20Ixodes%20ticks.