Or...Search this site Home Symptoms Live Discussion Diagnosis Treatment Area Support Library Research Lymelinks Contact Pets & Lyme DONATIONS Drug Info Medical Dictionary Board of Directors      Click on the graphic to vote for this site as a Starting Point Hot Site. -- 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. en français For Physicians Ticks Coinfections Prevention Our Stories Click Here to order our free Lyme Disease Flyer,    Here for our free Lyme Disease Poster ..documents may be copied (to distribute) but edit only for alignment. An excerpt from http://www.radio.cbc.ca/programs/ideas/shows/bacteria/bacteria.html Dr. Martin Freid recently presented evidence of infection with the Lyme germ in patients with Crohn's disease, an inflammation of the bowel which affects some 50,000 Canadians, and whose precise cause has eluded medical researchers. Dr. Gordon Greenberg, Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and head of the Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai, says it's not clear exactly what causes either Crohn's disease, or another inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis. He notes, "There has always been the concept that a single infectious etiology might be the cause of Crohn's or ulcerative colitis, but to date no single bacterium or virus has been linked with either disease. What is clear, however, is that bacterial flora within the gut, at least in a secondary way, perpetuate the inflammatory process in Crohn's." Greenberg cites several lines of evidence, including studies from his own center, on the effect of specific antibiotics, which he's found to be particularly effective in helping to control the inflammation of Crohn's disease. His initial data suggest improvement or remission in up to 63% of Crohn's patients treated with antibiotics. "More and more the concept is emerging that bacteria do play an important role, and that selected antibiotics are quite helpful in the management of patients with Crohn's disease," Greenberg notes. Dr. Freid recently saw an 8-year-old girl with blood in her stool, a typical symptom of ulcerative colitis. He prescribed medicine to calm the inflammation, but he also sent a tissue biopsy off for analysis. Surprisingly, it revealed an active Lyme infection. He put the girl on antibiotics for a month, and she made a complete recovery. "That's not the nature of ulcerative colitis, which would come back. But an infection would go away if treated properly. I thought it was fascinating." Neither Dr. Fried nor Dr. Greenberg is sure just what's going on in their patients, but the evidence certainly points to a role for bacteria. This uncertainty over causation extends as well to mysterious problems like chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Some think the Lyme bug may be to blame for a lot of cases, others suspect another organism called a mycoplasma - it's going to be a while until we know for sure.