Updates from the 2023 ILADS conference
The 2023 conference for the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, ILADS, was held in Boston in September. I had the honor of attending 3 days of lectures all focused on the problems associated with diagnosis and treatment of patients with tick borne illness, long COVID and associated conditions such as PANS and PANDAS. The conference covered a wide array of topics from the foundations of antibiotic and herbal antimicrobial therapies, to the use of machine learning (AI) to help develop new testing for lyme. One of the most exciting lectures of the conference was a research update on a new antibiotic called....
Hygromycin A has been successful and narrowly targeting lyme bacteria in mice and is slated to start human clinical trials in 2024. This is exciting because new antibiotics do not come along very often, the last new class of antibiotics was discovered was in 1984 according to Pew Charitable Trusts. The narrow range of Hygromycin A is also exciting, meaning that it does not kill many other bacteria like broad spectrum antibiotics do. If successful in human trials it may mean that we can use an antibiotic specific to Borrelia spp that would not cause much of the collateral damage and issues that we see with the current commonly used antibiotics.
The 2023 ILADS conference overall emphasized the interconnectedness of environmentally acquired illnesses (such as mold, and heavy metal toxicity), and opportunistic infections as complicating factors in treating lyme disease and long COVID. It presented research that establishes those connections and fostered conversation between physicians on how to unravel the layers that keep lyme patients sick.
Dr. Richard Horowitz, MD also presented his latest paper at the conference. It is an update on his Dapsone protocol for treating cases of Lyme disease when Bartonella is also present as a co-infection. The protocol presented is not suited for every patient and is in no way easy to do or inexpensive. It would never be a first step in treatment but the data presented in the paper is strong for those who qualified for treatment. The paper can be found here for those who are interested in the details. Link to paper.
ILADS mission as an organization is “the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and other complex inflammatory diseases. ILADS promotes awareness and understanding of complex inflammatory disease through science, research and education.” Additionally they have developed guidelines for the treatment of acute lyme disease that, in my view, are more likely to prevent post-treatment lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) than the current Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) guidelines. Link to the ILADS treatment guidelines.
I am grateful that I got to participate in this event and connect with the many other brilliant doctors who are passionate about diagnosing and treating lyme disease.
In health, Dr. Kathryn Boulter, ND
About Kathryn Boulter, N.D.
Related Blog Posts
An Interview with Dr. Stram: How Effective are the Current Conventional Treatments for Lyme Disease?
In this interview, we asked the founder of the Stram Center, Dr. Ronald Stram, how effective current antibiotic protocols are in regard to Lyme disease treatment. Dr. Stram has devoted his career to those suffering from chronic illnesses, specifically tick-borne diseases. Since 2003, the Stram Center has served nearly 10,000 patients suffering from Lyme disease all across the globe. Dr. Stram…Read the Post
Acupuncture for Relief from Lyme and TBD’s
Using acupuncture for symptom relief from Lyme and other TBD's.Read the Post
COVID-19 Long haulers Syndrome: Treatment, Symptoms and the Relation to Chronic Lyme Disease.
Researchers estimate about 10% of COVID-19 patients become long haulers, according to a recent article from The Journal of the American Medical Association, and research presented by scientists based in the United Kingdom. Whether you are older or younger, healthy or battling other health conditions, or if you had mild or severe COVID-19 symptoms, these conditions could…Read the Post
Focus on Lyme Conference Update
Highlights from the Focus on Lyme conference 2018.Read the Post
Evolving Objectives in the Treatment of Lyme Disease
As often happens in medicine, scientific evidence evolves; the continual flux of new patients with symptoms suggestive of Lyme disease is growing and new research has proven that Lyme disease is more complex and prevalent than we thought. The time has come to move beyond the divisiveness of the past, listen to the suffering of our patients and their families and move forward with all sides of the…Read the Post
Foods to Help Fight Lyme
Here are some food suggestions for fighting Lyme Disease, and what foods to avoid -- taken directly from Dr. Stram’s PowerPoint presentation to Core Life Eatery’s sold out audience on June 13th in Vestal, NY. We hope this information will help you in your quest to overcome Lyme!Read the Post
Herbal Support For Lyme Disease
Lyme disease a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia Burgdorgeri and in late stages, it can be difficult to treat. There is evidence that the Borrelia bacteria persists in tissues and can shift its form or shape in unfavorable host conditions, including a round body or cyst shap1.Different types of antibiotics and herbs have been studied to find the most effective agent that can…Read the Post
Related Services
Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease Diagnosis and Treatment in Delmar NY and Burlington VT offices At the Stram Center we vow to continue our education on Lyme Disease research, stay up to date on the most effective testing and all the safe available therapies. Moreover, our years of experience in treating patients according to the whole person-integrative medicine approach allows us the most effective way to care…Lyme Disease
