Lyme Project: Dr. Cameron keynote speaker in Vermont August 5, 2007

Dr. Cameron keynote speaker in Vermont August 5, 2007
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Times Argus on 04 August, 2007 05:05:00
 
Excerpts from Times Argus August 5, 2007
The high-profile keynote speakers included Pat Smith, president of the Lyme
Disease Association; Dr. Brian Fallon, the director of the Lyme and Tick-borne
Diseases Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center, and Dr. Daniel
J. Cameron, an internist, epidemiologist and clinical researcher.
...
"A blood test is not helpful to say when Lyme disease is over," Cameron said in
response to a parent's question."There is no test to say, "'I'm done,' or 'I'm
half done'."He noted that many of the biological markers that are elevated in
Lyme disease are also elevated in other conditions.
Lyme disease wreaks devastation on the human body.Its cause arthritis in
children and adults, neurological problems such as fatigue, memory loss,
migraines and searing pain, and psychiatric symptoms including depression,
dementia, panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The disease has been around for decades; Cameron recalled that an investigator
found evidence of the bacterium in some mouse ears in the Museum of Natural
History that dated from the 1920s or '30s.
...
The deer tick, which transmits Lyme disease, feeds on deer but doesn't get the
infection from them, Cameron observed.
...
As a result of these differences, there are now two sets of treatment
guidelines, a set developed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and
those that Cameron wrote for the International Lyme and Associated Diseases
Society.
...
"It's important to find out what the options are at the first visit with the
doctor," Cameron said."Even if the doctor says they're only going to have one
plan, not to treat unless they get a Western blot, it's nice to know there are
alternatives."
Cameron recommended going back for a follow-up visit 10 days later if symptoms
persist."The doctor may change his mind or look deeper," he said.
Cameron's third suggestion was that if a person still feels sick but doesn't
have the diagnostic bull's-eye rash, to "make sure you don't get dismissed too
quickly" and involve a neurologist or other specialist."There are different
perspectives on how to treat it," he said.