Alzheimer's and Lyme disease: a surprising connection
While attending a documentary premiere in New York City for the film Under Our Skin, in which my younger sister Marlena Connors (who has been struggling with Lyme disease for about six years) debuts, a large portion of the film was contributed to Dr. Alan McDonald’s research which revealed similarities and possible connections of Lyme and Alzheimer’s disease. Similarities between their manifestation sites in the brain and the type of spirochete bacteria which provide the blueprint for the disease, surprisingly overlap. Doing the majority of his studies in his basement as a personal project, Dr. MacDonald has made a great step for Lyme patients and possibly for Alzheimer’s patients whose disease originally stemmed from Lyme disease, as Alzheimer’s, or similar neurological symptoms, appear to be a late stage development of Lyme. Obviously, all Alzheimer's disease occurrences are not a product of Lyme disease, however some forms of Alzheimer's can be traced back to an undetected infection of Lyme, similar to cases of ADHD which originally started with a Lyme infected tick bite. Despite the evidence appearing as chicken or the egg in terms of chronology, Dr. MacDonald's findings are interesting and revelatory amidst his persistence in a field heavily guarded by insurance policies and close-minded physicians.
To get a closer look at his findings go to Alzheimer's and Lyme connection
To view the preview for Under Our Skin, the Lyme documentary where Dr. MacDonald exposes his research go to Dr. MacDonald's spirochete
Research is still taking baby steps, yet I think this deserves a decent amount of visibility to the Lyme and Alzheimer's communities.
To get a closer look at his findings go to Alzheimer's and Lyme connection
To view the preview for Under Our Skin, the Lyme documentary where Dr. MacDonald exposes his research go to Dr. MacDonald's spirochete
Research is still taking baby steps, yet I think this deserves a decent amount of visibility to the Lyme and Alzheimer's communities.
Tags: adhd, alzheimer's, blog, disease, infections, infectious, lyme
Add a Comment
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Comment by webdudey on May 30, 2009 at 6:35pm - I think there is a connection. I had Lyme for 8 years, but I ran into a website called Beat Lyme Disease and it gave me a lot of insipriation, plus it's helped a lot with my own condition. I think Lyme bacteria effects 50% or more of the population. I think it's rampant.
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Comment by clarice connors on June 20, 2008 at 9:45am -
Hayley,
The studies have been going on indefinitely, especially with someone like Dr. Alan MacDonald who began conducting research and experiments in his basement. However, these studies commenced as just general research on Lyme disease-- figuring out how it grows as a virus, where it manifests...etc. While doing this, MacDonald found the similarities of the Lyme spirochete with that of Alzheimer's...so you could say it was kind of a surprise. Now more is being done to directly research the intricacies of this discovery.
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Comment by Hayley on June 19, 2008 at 11:37am - That's really interesting, Clarice. I've never heard of there being a link between Alzheimer's and Lyme disease. Have these studies been going on for some time, or is it more of a new thing?
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Comment by Jody Simpson on June 18, 2008 at 2:02pm -
Clarice,
Thanks for sharing your sister's story. I'm intrigued by the idea of a previous bacterial infection possibly being the cause of Alzheimer's disease. I did find an interesting study, though not significant due to the size (n=27) and other various factors, that discusses the same possible bacterial infection to Alzheimer's.
The goal now is to get Congress to approve more Alzheimer's funding for research. Here's what you can do to help!
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