In memory- Neil L. Spector, MD. USA.

Jun 16, 2020 | Uncategorised

We are extremely sad to have to report the death of Dr Neil L. Spector, USA, Oncologist, and premier tick-borne illness researcher. Author, Gone in A Heartbeat, a physician’s search for true healing.      Neil was athletic, he ran marathons, but tick-borne diseases ravaged his body to such an extent that in 2009 he needed and received a heart transplant.   Neil, while working as a top Oncologist, decided to also turn his attention to tick-borne diseases, thereby implementing his oncology expertise to tick-borne infections. With vital support and generosity from the Steven and Alexander Cohen Foundation, Neil and his colleagues have been able to develop and continue an intrinsic and fundamentally valuable future for tick-borne illness research.         Such is the nature of tick-borne diseases that sadly, 11 years following his heart transplant, they continued to wreak havoc on Neil’s severely compromised immune system, and evidenced further complications too difficult to overcome.    Neil was a personal and true friend to our small charity, so much so that in 2016 and unpaid, he made the 8,000 mile round trip to the UK from North Carolina to support us as a key note speaker at our symposium where he presented his valuable work and research.    “To me, Lyme is the infectious disease equivalent of cancer. We don’t talk about cancer as just one disease anymore, and we should stop talking about Lyme this way. There are so many strains and co-infections. When you are bitten by a tick, you can get five or ten different infections at the same time. I also find it ludicrous to call...

Incidence of Lyme disease in the UK.

Aug 1, 2019 | Uncategorised

Published today is a new and highly important research paper by Victoria Cairns and colleagues, Christopher Wallenhorst, Stephan Rietbrock, Carlos Martinez. This paper gives a clear example of incidences from an anonymized GP database covering 8.4 million patients throughout the UK. It would have been an almighty task to analyze and identify Lyme disease patients and bring this research to the fore. The difficulties accessing this type of information needed for research studies is fraught with obstacles, and this point was made clear by researchers at our symposium in July, 2018. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/8/e025916 The numbers of patients not included in the paper will consist of those who were not properly identified as having had a tick bite, a rash, stiff neck, visual disturbances, balance problems, nor a multitude of other symptoms related to bites from infected ticks. It is important to mention that Lyme disease is only part of the problem, and many more infections make up the cocktail associated with infected ticks. Taking into account the vast numbers of patients not included on the database, it is more than safe to say that the true numbers of patients who have been let down by lack of suitable specialist knowledge, which includes accurate testing methods, will amount to multitudes of missed opportunities for treatment. We thank Dr Victoria Cairns and her colleagues for their determination and...

The Royal College of General Practitioners – Lyme Spotlight Project

Sep 21, 2018 | Uncategorised

This RCGP spotlight project focuses on raising the profile of Lyme disease in general practice and thereby increase awareness and improve patient outcomes. It was launched in May 2018 and will support primary care clinicians in developing clinical skills and expertise aimed at improving early recognition, diagnosis and treatment of the condition.  Included will be GP workshops and the development of an easily accessible on-line toolkit. The first Lyme Spotlight GP workshop will be held on Monday 12th November :   https://rcgpportal.force.com/s/lt-event?site=a0d0Y00000AeOP6QAN&id=a1U1n00000G7S3IEAV   Vis-à-Vis Symposiums are pleased to be represented in the steering group of this...

HEART PROBLEMS AND TICK BORNE DISEASE

May 9, 2017 | Uncategorised

Gone in a Heartbeat: A Physician’s Search for True Healing ‘Dr. Neil Spector, one of the nation’s top oncologists, led a charmed life. He was educated at prestigious universities, trained at top medical centers, and had married the woman of his dreams. It seemed too perfect. And it was. In 1994, it all came crashing down.’ https://www.amazon.com/Gone-Heartbeat-Physicians-Search-Healing/dp/1936946424 Dr Spector had a heart transplant as a result of the effects of Lyme Disease on his heart.  It is important to recognise the serious risks to the heart from Tick Borne Diseases   Medical   Just a selection of published papers on Lyme Carditis but other Tick borne diseases can also cause Cardiac problems.   Lyme Carditis   An earlier News Item about Dr Spector     Cancer Researcher Who Nearly Died of Lyme Discusses the Similarities Between the Two...