bay area lyme foundation Archives - Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Bay Area Lyme’s November 2021 Speaker Series Event: Bringing Hope and Support to Lyme Patients in San Diego

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

BAL Happenings Series

Why is the human immune system so complicated? Why are Lyme and tick-borne diseases so challenging for medical scientists to understand and for doctors to treat? And what is happening in the world of Lyme disease research that may offer hope to patients suffering from the effects of Lyme and TBDs on their continually assaulted immune systems?

On November 3, Bay Area Lyme Foundation and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute jointly hosted an audience of physicians, scientists, patients, supporting family members, and medical providers in La Jolla, CA, to hear a panel of distinguished speakers address the subject of how the human immune system responds to the bacterial or viral assault of a tick-borne infection.

The San Diego event was part of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s ongoing Distinguished Speaker Series. The Speaker Series format brings together a panel of distinguished individuals, typically including a researcher, a physician, and a Lyme patient advocate. By giving varied perspectives on topics relevant to Lyme and tick-borne diseases (TBDs), Bay Area Lyme provides a platform for the discussion of new scientific discoveries and other developments relevant to Lyme. The series also fosters community-building for patients seeking answers to the challenges of this debilitating disease.

Part of this session’s discussion explored the frustration experienced by countless Lyme patients that most medical providers and physicians are so poorly educated regarding Lyme and TBDs. “They don’t test for all types of TBDs, don’t agree on treatments, aren’t trained to recognize or treat heart problems caused by TBDs, and over-prescribe powerful immune suppressants which can be deadly for TBD patients,” criticized David Haney, PhD, biochemist, patient advocate and panelist. “San Diego physicians are under the mistaken impression that there is no Lyme disease in California, but it has been established in the state since the 1970s. People also travel, and a tick-borne infection is more than just Borrelia burgdorferi. This has been proven in multiple studies,” he added. “Academic studies show that Babesia duncani and several species of tick-borne Borrelia are more prevalent in the West than the East.”

“Traditional healthcare needs to learn to diagnose and treat tick-borne diseases,“

– David Haney, PhD

Citizen Scientist Study Fuels Launch of First Series of Interactive U.S. County Maps of Ticks Carrying Diseases

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Citizen Scientist Study Fuels Launch of First Series of Interactive U.S. County Maps of Ticks Carrying Diseases

– Study finds ticks carrying disease-causing bacteria in 116 counties where they have not been previously documented by CDC –

PORTOLA VALLEY, CA, October 20, 2021—Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading nonprofit funder of innovative Lyme disease research in the U.S., today announced the launch of interactive national tick maps of U.S. counties based on data published in mSphere, a multidisciplinary open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The new data identify Ixodes ticks carrying disease-causing pathogens in 116 counties which were not previously identified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

“The area known to harbor disease-carrying ticks continues to expand, and we hope people across the US will use these interactive maps to learn more about the risks for their hometowns, their family’s residences and vacation spots,” said Linda Giampa, executive director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “The citizen scientists contributing to this study allowed the country’s collective tick knowledge to advance further than even the CDC could do at this time. Gaining the support of citizen scientists allowed us to collect from many counties across the country where ticks are not usually collected and tested, or they are not tested for these pathogens.”

Tick-borne Diseases, PANS/PANDAS and Resulting Pediatric Anxiety and Eating Disorders

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Daniel Kinderlehrer, MD, author of Recovery From Lyme Disease: The Integrative Medicine Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Tick-Borne Illness

Daniel Kinderlehrer, MD is the author of Recovery from Lyme Disease: The Integrative Medicine Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Tick-Borne Illness. He is also the author of several review articles in medical journals and the Lyme Times. Dr. Kinderlehrer attended Tufts Medical School and is an internal medicine physician. He co-founded the New England Center for Holistic Medicine and has a private integrative medicine practice in Denver, Colorado, where he treats patients with tick-borne illnesses.

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Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s LymeAid® Brings Together an Enthusiastic Crowd to Celebrate Momentum in Infectious Disease Research

Bay Area Lyme Board of Directors at LymeAid 2021

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s LymeAid® Brings Together an Enthusiastic Crowd to Celebrate Momentum in Infectious Disease Research

Dana Carvey and Pop Rocks featuring Mark McGrath energized the supportive audience of scientists, clinicians, patients and philanthropists gathered to advance promising Lyme research

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., September 20, 2021—Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the United States, hosted its preeminent event, LymeAid, this weekend, its first in-person event since 2019. The event celebrated ongoing research of tick-borne disease, acknowledged important learnings from COVID-19 and pointed to the great need for the advancement of these efforts. Even with smaller numbers to allow for social distancing, LymeAid raised $650,000 of which 100 percent goes directly to fund scientific research, education and prevention programs for Lyme disease. Lyme disease is a potentially disabling infection diagnosed in nearly half a million Americans each year.

Emmy-award winning comedian Dana Carvey, was the Master of Ceremonies and received a standing ovation for his live performance, his first in 20 months. And, Pop Rocks featuring Mark McGrath delivered an outstanding show that got everyone dancing.

A leading U.S. expert on COVID-19 Charles Chiu, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco presented insights and research related to the similarities between COVID-19 and Lyme disease, including the difficulties in diagnosing each disease.

Gratitude of a Celebrity, Business Woman, Author, Wife and Mom

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Ally Hilfiger, Lyme advocate and author of her memoir “Bite Me”

Ally Hilfiger, film producer, fashion designer, businesswoman, reality TV star, daughter of fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger, and author of the book “Bite Me” shares her personal experience with tick-borne diseases and her path to healing.

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Herbal Medicines Demonstrate Potency Against Bartonella, a Disease-causing Pathogen, According to New Lab Study

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Herbal Medicines Demonstrate Potency Against Bartonella, a Disease-causing Pathogen, According to New Lab Study

Three of these herbal medicines also have high potency against Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, and Babesia duncani, according to previous lab studies also funded by Bay Area Lyme Foundation

PORTOLA VALLEY, CA, August 5, 2021—Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the U.S., today announced the publication of new data showing that herbal medicines have potent activity in test tubes compared to pharmaceuticals commonly-prescribed for the treatment of Bartonella henselae, a bacterium believed to be carried by ticks and the cause of cat scratch fever. This is the first study to find antimicrobial activity of some of these herbal medicines. Published in the journal Infectious Microbes & Diseases, the laboratory study was funded in part by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation.

“With increasing rates of tick-borne diseases and a consistent concern about the overuse of antibiotics, this early research of herbals is extremely exciting,” said Linda Giampa, executive director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “We are hopeful that future pre-clinical and clinical studies will continue to show that herbals have the same effectiveness as this study and other recently-published studies.”

How Do You Build a Biobank to Solve the Problem of Lyme Disease? Literally – One Tick Bite at a Time

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Written by: Jo Ellis, Bay Area Lyme Volunteer and Supporter

Science is all about asking questions and finding answers. It attracts the curious, the driven, the questioners and fact seekers—the people who won’t accept the status quo and who are always pushing to learn more. If we keep asking science the right questions, we’re bound to get to the right answers eventually. It’s simple, right?

Unfortunately, not. As with everything about Lyme disease the answers to the questions are not so simple. Lyme is a complicated, nuanced disease with many challenging attributes, so much so that even the most experienced clinicians and medical researchers struggle to understand the many ways the infection impacts the human body. So, if you’re going to try and solve the puzzle of Lyme disease, where is the best place to start? How do you get all the pieces in place to move the needle to solve the complexity of this disease?

Enter Bay Area Lyme Foundation and Principal Investigator, Liz Horn PhD, MBI. When they were planning this project, they asked research scientists in the field of Lyme disease what were their big obstacles to finding out more about Lyme? What did scientists need so that they could start chipping away at the conundrum of this horrible disease?

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Partners with American Junior Golf Association to Provide Critical Education About Tick-borne Disease

Golfers are at high risk for Lyme disease

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Partners with American Junior Golf Association to Provide Critical Education About Tick-borne Disease

Golf is Estimated to Be Among the Highest Risk Sports for Contracting Lyme and Other Tick-borne Diseases

Portola Valley, CA, July 15, 2021 — Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the US, and the American Junior Golf Association have announced a new partnership aimed at educating young golfers about Lyme disease and providing tips for preventing tick bites. For this partnership, Bay Area Lyme Foundation will provide prevention materials, tick removal keys, Tick Tock Naturals® organic tick repellent and Sawyer® picaridin lotion to all AJGA members. In addition, Bay Area Lyme Foundation will become a Leadership Links charity partner, and two tournaments will be named for the Foundation by the end of 2023.

“As former AJGA and Harvard Division 1 golfers, my brother and I wish we had been educated on the risks associated with Lyme disease and the prevalence of ticks throughout the U.S., and ways to prevent being bitten,” said Nina Fairbairn (AJGA ’13, Harvard ’17), an investment partner who volunteers for Bay Area Lyme Foundation as an Advisory Board member and is spearheading this partnership for the Foundation. “Few golfers seem aware of the risks and even fewer take precautions, and it’s imperative for us to change this.”

Golf courses are a hotbed for ticks that can carry Lyme disease. Ticks flourish in areas between woods and open spaces, which is the exact terrain of golf courses, and live on the small forest animals that often occupy golf courses. Lyme disease is the most common vector borne illness in the United States with at least 476,000 new cases each year.

The Wearable Project: How Can Wearables Be Used in Diagnosing and Studying Lyme Disease?

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Dr. Snyder, Stanford professor and author of the book: "Genomics and Personalized Medicine: What Everyone Needs to Know".

Guest host, Wendy Adams, Bay Area Lyme grant director, interviews Dr. Michael Snyder, Stanford W. Ascherman Professor and Chair, Department of Genetics Director, Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine Stanford University. Dr. Snyder is a major participant in the ENCODE project, the public research project that aims to identify functional elements of the human genome. He authored the book: Genomics and Personalized Medicine: What Everyone Needs to Know. He is also a cofounder and a board member of several biotechnology companies.

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Bay Area Lyme Foundation Selects National Winners of the 2021 Emerging Leader Awards to Advance Research for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Selects National Winners of the 2021 Emerging Leader Awards to Advance Research for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease

Brandon Jutras, PhD of Virginia Tech, Nitya Ramadoss, PhD of Stanford University and Michael P. Rout, PhD of The Rockefeller University are this year’s recipients

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., July 6th, 2021—Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the U.S., announces the recipients of the 2021 Emerging Leader Awards (ELA), which are designed to support promising scientists who represent the future of Lyme disease research leadership. Michael P. Rout, PhD of The Rockefeller University will receive $250,000 for his work with nanobodies to develop a sensitive point-of-care diagnostic. Brandon Jutras, PhD of Virginia Tech and Nitya Ramadoss, PhD of Stanford University will each receive $100,000 toward the development of a novel direct-detection diagnostic approach for Lyme disease and a novel therapeutic based on B-cell mapping, respectively. Lyme disease is a potentially disabling infection diagnosed in nearly half a million Americans each year.

“As there is not a diagnosis or treatment that works for all patients, there is a critical need to develop direct-detection diagnostics as well as treatments that can prevent the development of persistent Lyme disease, and we are excited to support these novel approaches that have shown success in other areas,” said Linda Giampa, executive director, Bay Area Lyme Foundation.

Two of the award winners will utilize biological samples from the Lyme Disease Biobank, a program of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, to collect well-characterized human tissue, blood and urine specimens to accelerate research of Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections.