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No Warranties or Representations
The data and information presented in this web site are presented in good faith and believed to be accurate. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions including any inaccuracies, errors, or misstatements in such data or information is expressly disclaimed. The web site is compiled for the sole purpose of informing community members of resources and information pertaining to Lyme Borreliosis Disease and its coinfections.
The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, Directors and members are not liable for any direct or indirect damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this website.
Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect.
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COUGHS & SNEEZES SPREAD BRAIN DISEASES
Nov 4 2004 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=14831951&method=full&siteid=89488&headline=coughs---sneezes-spread-brain-diseases-name_page.html
Experts claim colds cause mental illness
By Judith Duffy
COUGHS and sneezes can cause more than a cold - they can spread mental illness, scientists warn.
People can catch mind disorders such as schizophrenia or depression simply by being exposed to bugs that attack the brain.
So many potential 'mind germs' have now been unearthed that some researchers are ready to challenge the conventional wisdom about the principal causes of mental illness, reports New Scientist.
Epidemiologists discovered a prenatal infection could be linked to the development of schizophrenia years later.
A blood test study of women in California who were pregnant between 1959 and 1966 found maternal exposure to flu during the first half of pregnancy tripled the child's risk of developing a schizophrenia disorder.
Dr Alan Brown, of Columbia University, said: 'It's far higher than any single gene in terms of what we call relative risk.'
Schizophrenia is rare, affecting only one per cent of the population.
But Dr Brown believes if the results can be duplicated, up to 14 per cent of cases could be preventable.
Several other bugs have come to light that are able to trigger symptoms of mental illness - ranging from behavioural problems to depression and full-blown psychosis.
When it comes to causes of mental illness, genes have always been the prime suspects, with environmental factors playing a lesser role.
Infectious disease is almost an afterthought.
But evolutionary biologist Paul Ewald, of Kentucky, says that ignores some obvious facts.
He said: 'The biggest breakthrough in the history of psychiatry was recognising that syphilis causes insanity and that it can be prevented with antibiotics.'
Dr Ewald believes the same mistake is being repeated today with Lyme disease and other infectious agents.
Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness identified in the late 1970s, is caused by bacteria that are able to burrow into tissue and stir up brain disorders, research shows.
If diagnosed quickly, it can now be cured with a simple round of antibiotics.
The idea that you can catch a mental illness from a bug bite or a sneeze may seem the stuff of nightmares.
But it also holds hope that treatment could, one day be as simple as tackling an infection.
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