Page 22 - SAM September 2019

PUBLIC HEALTH

LYME

DISEASE:

Diagnosis and Cure

By Alfred Miller, MD

here is a saying, “live and learn.” Ma., I wondered if her diagnosis could be mune”, so the patients are treated with im-
I have practiced medicine for Borrelia Burgdorferi infection or, as it is munosuppressive medications prior to test-
over fifty years. I have lived and commonly known, Lyme Disease. A Bor- ing. These prevent the antibody response
I have learned. I had a private practice in relia infection could produce the exact same resulting in a negative test result. The stan-
Internal Medicine/Rheumatology from clinical presentation. My daughter’s illness dard Western Blot omits Outer Surface
1968-2008 in San Antonio, TX. While keep- put me on a path of investigation and Protein “A” (Band #31) and Outer Surface
ing a full schedule, I also taught Rheuma- knowledge. Once properly tested, her diag- Protein “B” (Band #34). These omissions
tology at the UTSA Rheumatology Clinic nosis of Lyme disease was undeniably clear. are very unfortunate, forcing an invalid ex-
one afternoon a week at the Robert B. I am truly amazed by the results of ob- clusion of Borrelia infection.
Green Hospital, providing care to the un- jective testing to confirm the etiology of
derserved population. Neurodegenerative Diseases. For many Intellectual honesty is the
Then my daughter-in-law in Boston be- years I erroneously excluded Borrelia infec- basis of all science.
came ill. Top hospitals in Boston and even tions by adhering to the standard testing
the Mayo Clinic, where I trained, thought method. The tests measure the antibodies I have encountered numerous patients
she had MS and then ALS. Her symptoms in the patient's blood in response to expo- who have been diagnosed with MS, ALS,
were varied, extreme, and debilitating. sure to the antigens on the spirochete. In Lewey Body Dementia, CIDP, Parkinson’s
There was no offered cure; she was given the chronic infection, the spirochete be- Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other
four months to live. Given no hope, I began comes cystic and sequestered resulting in a MND who are testing positive for Borrelia
to search for something, anything, to ex- muted or absent immune response. infection when properly tested. Prior to
plain her symptoms. Because she had lived Furthermore, many of the Neurodegen- testing, the patient's immune system must
in Westchester, NY, and then in Boston, erative Diseases are considered “auto-im- be exposed to the spirochete in order to

22 San Antonio Medicine • September 2019