LymeBlog

Distinct pattern of cognitive impairment noted in study of Lyme patients

Distinct Pattern of Cognitive Impairment Noted in Study of Lyme Patients Marian Rissenberg PhD & Susan Chambers MD, The Lyme Times, Vol. 20, Jan-Mar 1998, pp. 29-32
From: Melissa Kaplan'sChronic Neuroimmune Diseases
Information on CFS, FM, MCS, Lyme Disease, Thyroid, and more...

Synopsis: This study demonstrates that for the majority of chronic Lyme patients with cognitive complaints, there is in fact a measurable and significant decline in intellectual acuity. The nature and severity of the cognitive impairment is such that it interferes with all aspects of normal functioning: employment, home, marriage, social interactions, and general emotional well-being.

I. Cognitive Characteristics of Chronic Lyme Encephalopathy

On the basis of both a formal neuropsychological study of 49 patients (APA 5/96) and on clinical observation and comprehensive neuropsychological examination of well over 100 patients, a distinct pattern of cognitive impairment occurring chronic Lyme disease can be described. These patients consistently demonstrate deficits in directed, sustained and divided attention, planning and organization of responses, temporal ordering, verbal fluency, abstract reasoning, speed of processing, and motor programming. The overall pattern of intellectual impairment is not unlike that seen with diffuse brain injury, and it most often results in some degree of work-related disability.

Although performance is impaired on measures of cognitive functions associated with specific brain regions -- receptive and expressive language, visuospatial problem solving and memory -- the quality of performance is not suggestive of focal lesions in these areas. Rather, deficits are secondary to impairment of higher level integrative functions, likely mediated by complex neuronal systems. Specifically, the receptive language deficit is secondary to impaired auditory tracking and slowing of mental processing. The expressive language deficit is secondary to impaired word retrieval and response planning, The visuospatial problem solving deficit is secondary to impairment of mental flexibility, conceptualization and the ability to compare and contrast necessary in decision making. Finally, deficits on test of memory function are most often secondary to impairment of the encoding or initial processing of information, which depends on attention, and the retrieval of stored information. The storage of new information, or memory per se, is rarely impaired.

This pattern suggests that cognitive dysfunction in chronic Lyme, while expressed variably across individual patients, results from a common factor -- the breakdown of diffusely represented processes involving both integration and activation, and impacting primarily on attention and reasoning. The fluctuation of impairment over short periods of time suggest that a physiologic rather than a structural mechanism is responsible.

II. Neuropsychological deficits in chronic Lyme disease
(A study presented at the annual meeting of The American Psychiatric Association , May 1996)

The neuro-psychological characteristics of 49 patients with Lyme disease were examined. The study set out to answer three

Worldwide Lyme Disease Awareness Protest

Worldwide Lyme Disease Awareneww Protest

From: worldwidelymediseaseprotestus.blogspot.com/

Several countries are putting together a worldwide protest for Lyme Disease Awareness. If you would like to find out more about it please click here.

Worldwide Lyme Disease Awareness Protest

If you would like to be involved in the protest for your state please visit:

bhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Worldwide-Lyme-Protest-US/111527755675190?fref=pb

Or click on your state:

If your state is not listed and you would like to start an event, please contact us.

Maine

Missouri

Wisconsin

Over 20 Countries now involved in planning the Worldwide Lyme Disease Awareness Protest. Please stop by and like their facebook page to show your support!

Click More to see contact info for countries ...

Did Adam Lanza Have Lyme Disease?

A Tick-ing Time Bomb?

Did Adam Lanza Have Lyme Disease?

by JESSICA BERNSTEIN

Counterpunch Magazine

As the nation has been questioning how Adam Lanza could have committed such an unfathomable act, mental health issues have been at the forefront of the discussion. However, knowing that Newtown is located in a highly Lyme-endemic area, many in the Lyme community recognize that neurological lyme disease could be part of the answer to what led to the Connecticut shooting.

Although most people or animals with Lyme or other tick-borne diseases are not violent, a small percentage have demonstrated violent behavior. Many may remember the chimpanzee named Travis who attacked the woman and tore off her face. That chimpanzee had Lyme disease and lived in Connecticut.

Psychiatrist Robert Bransfield, M.D. estimates that aggressive behavior has been a significant issue for ...

Remembering Leslie Wermers. Four years ago today

LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
By LymeBlog News Staff

"If I die tomorrow and I save one life, I'll die happy."
Leslie Wermers 07/07/1967 - 11/02/2008

Leslie Gave Everything She Had, Cared & Loved So Deeply, Until the Very End.
~God Broke Our Hearts and Angels Rejoiced, the Day Leslie Entered Heaven~
November 2nd, 2008

Leslie Wermers Remembered, International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society

~You've touched Countless Lives in so Many Beautiful Ways~She Was Always A Loving and Giving Sister; Daughter; Life- Partner; Jayde's Lessie; Ralphie & Dudley's Mommy; Cherished Lyme Patient Advocate; Aunt; Niece; Cousin; & Friend.

Here is an excerpt from the beautiful tribute that Andy Abrahams Wilson wrote in memory of Leslie.
Andy is the Producer/Director of the Powerful Lyme Disease Documentary,"Under Our Skin".

"The Lyme community has lost an important hero and friend–and so did I. Leslie Wermers, 41, died from heart failure in her sleep on November 2nd, 2008."

"It is hard to imagine Leslie’s heart giving out, because for anyone who knew her she was all heart."

"A dear friend to so many and a tireless worker on behalf of the Minnesota and national Lyme communities, Leslie gave everything she had to help others who were sick. And everything she had was an abundant reserve of love and support–even as her own health waned." Andy Abrahams Wilson, Producer/Director, UNDER OUR SKIN Click Here to read the entire tribute and to watch Leslie's interview excerpt from "Under Our Skin".

Other stories about Leslie:

North Iowa native, Story City woman advocate for Lyme disease victims

Lyme Disease Patients Loses a Hero and Friend

The Tick And The Time Bomb

Source: Minnesota Lymefighters
Co-founded by Leslie Wermers

Other stories about Leslie:

North Iowa native, Story City woman advocate for Lyme disease victims

Lyme Disease Patients Loses a Hero and Friend

The Tick And The Time Bomb

Other stories about Leslie:

North Iowa native, Story City woman advocate for Lyme disease victims

Lyme Disease Patients Loses a Hero and Friend

The Tick And The Time Bomb

Virginia State Health Commissioner Warns of Lyme Disease

A NatCapLyme Bulletin

For Virginia Health Professionals An important message for you from
Virginia State Health Commissioner
Karen Remley, MD, MBA, FAAP May 17, 2012 Dear Colleague, Wherever you practice in Virginia, you now have to assume that any patient exposed to ticks is at risk for Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases. In 2011, there were 1,023 confirmed or probable cases of Lyme disease and as you can see in the map, cases were confirmed in all regions of the state. In preparation for what may be a busy tick season this year, I am writing to build upon last year's communication and to provide you with the most current information about Lyme disease and other clinically relevant tickborne diseases in Virginia. In addition, I want to be sure you have access to helpful tickborne disease resources and recommended prevention guidance to provide your patients. READ THE FULL MESSAGE HERE: The National Capital Lyme & Tick-borne Disease Association
P.O. Box 8211 · McLean VA 22106-8211 · Phone & Fax 703-821-8822
natcaplyme@natcaplyme.org http://www.natcaplyme.org National Capital Lyme Disease Association | P.O. Box 8211 | McLean, VA 22106

Report on the IOM Meeting Regarding Lyme Disease

“Medical progress should no longer be impeded by the polarizing controversy that has characterized Lyme disease research in the past. The dialogue must continue and encourage mutually respectful collaboration across scientific disciplines and among researchers, clinicians and patients, even when view points differ, if we are to make progress.”

(Gregg Skall, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC)

Report on the IOM Meeting Regarding Lyme Disease

LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
From: National Capital Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Association
www.natcaplyme.org
natcaplyme@natcaplyme.org
Phone & fax: 703-821-8833

Washington, DC – Thursday, April 21, 2011. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released their report on April 20, 2011, on “The Critical Needs and Gaps in Understanding Prevention, Amelioration and Resolution of Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases.” The report confirmed what Lyme patients have known for years – that Lyme disease is a serious illness, and significant gaps remain in our understanding of the disease.

At the request of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the IOM was entrusted to plan and hold a two-day workshop to assess the state of the science of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. A committee was formed, which provided a forum for broad scientific and public input, and produced a summary report on the critical needs and gaps in research.

Although we share the concern with many in the Lyme community that treatment was not included in this workshop, we are pleased that other critical themes were addressed. The National Capital Lyme Disease Association (NatCapLyme) would like to thank the IOM for completing this arduous task with integrity within the guidelines they were charged to respect.

Pamela Weintraub’s powerful presentation at the IOM workshop last October made a notable impression on the IOM Committee. In its preface, the IOM Committee wrote: “Pamela Weintraub spoke eloquently about her personal experience and her family’s challenges with Lyme Disease.” Echoing Pamela Weintraub’s call for research, the IOM report states that “a new environment of trust and a better environment for more constructive dialogue [is required] to help focus research needs and achieve better outcomes.”

We commend the IOM for so effectively establishing the convergence of science with real-life situations and highlighting both the need for more scientific knowledge and the serious societal challenges that need to be addressed.

Importantly, the IOM Committee noted that “the burden of disease is a growing concern.” The Committee recognized that “tick-borne diseases (TBDs) represent some of the world’s most rapidly expanding arthropod-borne infectious diseases, yet significant gaps remain in our understanding and knowledge about them.” Some of the themes discussed in the IOM report suggesting greater emphasis and more research are:

· A national integrated research plan for advancing the science on tick-borne diseases;

· A long-term study of Lyme disease and other TBD patients; Educational programs for the public;

· The current status of diagnostic tests and biomarkers for tick-borne diseases;

· Biorepositories for tick-borne diseases; Biological understanding of persistent symptoms;

· The impact of coinfection in severity of human TBDs;

· The role of immune response to tick-borne infection and its effect on bacterial load and disease manifestations;

· Animal models that explore mechanisms of pathogen persistence following antibiotic treatment.

A diverse group of scientists and physicians with expertise in tick-borne infections discussed a breadth of scientific topics. Some profound insights shared by several of these presenters include:

· “Science is not belief, but the will to find out” (Benjamin J. Luft, M.D.)

· “Everyone is studying the early stage of this infection, no one is studying the persistent phase of this infection.” (Stephen Barthold, D.V.M., Ph.D.)

· “You do not require an antibody response to develop this disease” (Janis J.Weis, Ph.D.)

· “Treat the patient, not the test” (Juan Olano, M.D.)

· “[For the child] long-term effects last 50-70 years” (Richard F. Jacobs, M.D.)

· “…the poor understanding of the true incidence and geographical distribution…I don’t think we have a clue” (Richard F. Jacobs, M.D.)

· “How can you say, ‘I’ve treated you for four weeks and therefore you no longer have Lyme disease.’ The fact is, we don’t know!” (Sam T. Donta, M.D.)

· “Under-powered studies which purport to demonstrate universal efficacy need to be viewed with circumspection” (Sam T. Donta, M.D.)

· “All that shouting drowns out all the complexity and the nuance and the work that needs to be done” (Pamela Weintraub, senior editor at Discover magazine, and author of Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic)

In addition to thanking all the presenters, we want to express our gratitude to the Lyme community for supporting our effort to see this workshop through. The thousands of Lyme patients who responded to our surveys and allowed their stories to be shared in “The Human Dimension of Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases: The Patient’s Perspective,” the NatCapLyme paper commissioned by the IOM, provided a valuable contribution to the IOM workshop and report.http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Critical-Needs-and-Gaps-in-Understanding-Prevention-Amelioration-and-Resolution-of-Lyme-and-Other-Tick-Borne-Diseases.aspx (p. A-67)

We strongly urge each of you to continue the process that IOM initiated by reading the IOM report so that you can extract from these works what is beneficial to your specific case in your quest to achieve wellness and to overcome the negative effects of Lyme disease. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Critical-Needs-and-Gaps-in-Understanding-Prevention-Amelioration-and-Resolution-of-Lyme-and-Other-Tick-Borne-Diseases.aspx

The IOM workshop brings us another step closer to improving the lives of Lyme patients and their families who have been profoundly impacted by tick-borne infections, and who have been caught in the crossfire of opposing views for such a long time. The next logical step is collaboration between all stake holders to fill in the gaps uncovered in this workshop concerning diagnosis, addressing the topic of treatment, and the need for a consistency of language in discussing Lyme disease. “Medical progress should no longer be impeded by the polarizing controversy that has characterized Lyme disease research in the past. The dialogue must continue and encourage mutually respectful collaboration across scientific disciplines and among researchers, clinicians and patients, even when view points differ, if we are to make progress.” (Gregg Skall, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC)

We implore Congress to fund and the IOM to convene a second workshop that would address research needs for effective treatment for persistent Lyme disease.

National Capital Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Association

P.O. Box 8211 · McLean VA 22106-8211 · Phone & Fax 703-821-8822
NatCapLyme@natcaplyme.org · http://www.natcaplyme.org

Under Our Skin comes to PBS

Under Our Skin comes to PBS
LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
By LymeBlog News Staff

The award-winning Lyme documentary “Under Our Skin” will air nationally on Public Television stations during Lyme Disease Awareness Month, May 2011. This has the potential of reaching millions of homes across the country. The film will be shown through NETA (the National Educational Telecommunications Association), which is offering the film free-of-charge to the PBS network.Call your local PBS station and encourage that “Under Our Skin” is placed on the calendar for the month of May, 2011. It’s free!Check to see if the film is scheduled to show in your area. If your local PBS station has not scheduled the film, please contact them and ask them to show it. Many of the stations that are broadcasting UNDER OUR SKIN agreed to schedule it after receiving a handful of calls from viewers in the community.

For local PBS station contact information, go to www.pbs.org/stationfinder

Questions contact info@openeyepictures.com

National Museum of Women in the Arts honors Susan Swartz

National Museum of Women in the Arts honors Susan Swartz
ParkRecord.com
By Scott Iwasaki, Of the Record staff

"My husband and I co-produced a couple of documentary films with Impact Partners," she said. "One deals with mercury poisoning ('Mercury Rising') and another with Lyme disease ('Under Our Skin')."

A decade ago, artist Susan Swartz was diagnosed with mercury poisoning from eating fish from contaminated waters. Six years ago, she contracted Lyme disease.

In both instances, Swartz, who splits her time between Martha's Vineyard and Park City, nearly died, but they also gave her a new perspective about her art. "My paintings have become more bold as a result of those experiences," Swartz told The Park Record during an interview. "In this world where commerce and technology seem to influence so many people, I think I want my message to take on the real beauty that is in our natural surroundings. If any of my paintings take people away from those other distractions, even for a few minutes, then they are succeeding in conveying what God gave us naturally.
Swartz's paintings will have the chance to reach new audiences when the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., honors the artist with a special exhibit, "Susan Swartz: Seasons of the Soul." The exhibit will run June 17 through Oct. 2

(Photo courtesy the Bishopric Agency)

"This is really a big deal for me and I'm so excited," Swartz said. "The museum staff has been talking to me for about a year and half. I got word of a commitment date two days before Christmas last year and what a nice Christmas present for me." Swartz said the NMWA, founded by Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, was the first organization to give equal footing to female artists. "I can't think of any organization that has done more for women artists in our country than NMWA," she said. "Ever since I attended a function years ago, I have dreamed about my work hanging there, so it is an incredible privilege, now, to show my works at this institution."
The exhibit will feature 13 compositions, all of which show her keen eye for the environment, which has developed over the past 40 years.
"I am in what I would call my impressionist/expressionist stage right now," Swartz explained. "I feel like I've gone trough my portraits, my small animals my flower stage and my barn stage and my scuba-diving stage. Now I'm completely into nature.
"In the summer I'm on the East Coast and do a lot of water scenes with water lilies and that sort of stuff," she said. "When I come back to Park City, I paint my trees and landscapes again."
Having recovered from illnesses that were environmental in origin, Swartz became an environmental activist and she believes her art is the perfect vehicle to spread those messages.
"Everyone has a talent that I think they can apply to a greater good," Swartz said. "I think I'm most happy when my work inspires others to make a difference in our environment."
However, she knows that her art is only part of ...

Review: The Poison Plum by Les Roberts

http://lyme-aware.org

by Lydia Niederwerfer, Lydia's Blog, Lyme-Aware.org

Less Roberts, author of "The Poison Plum" I found it intriguing, imaginative and worth reading. It held me spellbound while at the same time left me unsettled and distressed because if you take the time to do more research on the plight of those that suffer with Lyme Disease right now you will find that this book in its underlying facts is so close to true life.

Critics and reviews have stated that Les Roberts’ book, The Poison Plum, is by some too over the top in expressing the views of "fundamentalist Christians" and political enthusiasts who think outside the norm. It goes way beyond inconceivable; others had nothing but praise for the book.

Originally, I had written a review that follows in the same format of others. A freak accident wiped out my entire’s week work which included the review of Les Roberts’ book. Although I feel the original review was adequate, after re-reading the reviews that were already out there, I reconsidered a different perspective from the first.

Each and every one of us has different tastes and interests when it comes to reading books. As we all have difference of opinions on how much government involvement should be allowed in our personal lives. For example, right now, those that oppose the increase of Government and want to uphold the Constitution are considered radicals and trouble makers.

I love to read all types of books and watch all types of movies: suspense, thriller, autobiographies, educational, fluff, feel good, romance, comedy and spiritual. It all depends on what is happening in my own life. Books and movies are used to escape or expand on what is happening in real life. We have the choice on what we would like to read and what we would like to watch. If you don’t want to read a particular book: don’t; if you don’t agree with a particular movie: don’t watch it. End of story.

Connie Strasheim did an excellent job of concisely describing The Poison Plum. “Paradoxically, life's greatest truths are often found in fiction, and nowhere has the truth about Lyme, the fastest-growing infectious disease in the United States, been so accurately revealed as in this powerful, gripping story about a congressman and his quest for justice, a woman's desire for her son's healing from Lyme disease, and the powers that oppose them.”

I, too, like others was captivated and disconcerted with the underlying truth of the basis of the book. Often I found that I had to set it aside to calm down. You see, within this work of fiction, Roberts does a thorough job on intertwining fact within fiction.

In the beginning, the reader is presented with the infamous works of the Government’s Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment in Alabama in the 1940’s where approximately 400 African Americans were used as human guinea pigs. Some may think, that was decades ago. Surely, the Government has come a long way since then; however, there are several concerns and conjectures on where the 2001-2002 West Nile virus became such a problem and why. If you ask those that are struggling with chronic Lyme Disease, there are those that feel the particular strain of Lyme Disease that becomes chronic is a form of a “bio warfare” defense. With all these examples, if you take the necessary time to research, you will find supporting evidence.

No sooner are you shown the horrors of what the Government is capable of, then you are thrust into the present. A tragedy at the hand of a beloved, honored and Congressional Medal Honor recipient at Plum Island, one of the most inconsolable experiences that we have been exposed to over and over only to be left asking: Why?

In the reader’s journey to find out, you are led through a single mother’s quest to find a cure for her son’s illness, that physician upon physician has a different idea as to what could be the problem. She then finds out that the answer may be at her job with the Government at the biological research laboratory. This thrusts her into a world of deception, government corruption, and the political injustices in search of the truth. Only to end with a major twist of turn of events.

This book is not for the faint of heart or those that choose to see the world through rose-colored glasses. It is also not for those that are firm believers that the Government is only looking for the best interest of the people and has no underlying motives of its own.

"... painted with imagination, clarity, intricate description and exceptional pacing--well, not only does it entertain, but it also immerses the reader in its world, captivating the soul from page one until the very end. ~ Connie Strasheim, Author/Medical Researcher of Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment: Thirteen Lyme-Literate Health Care Practitioners Share Their Healing Strategies

"This book encompasses many aspects of what is really taking place in our world and I think we need to heed the author's warnings. The Poison Plum is very well written and includes all the essential elements of a spellbinding thriller." ~ Marjorie Tietjen, Freelance investigative journalist

"This is one for the record books! This one will change the way you think, open your eyes and leave you speechless. This is one book you will never, ever forget! Les Roberts has knocked it out of the ball park with his creative genius. Get it!" ~ Laura Z.

Will false claims by Lyme disease associations backfire?

LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
By Mac McDonald, Editor, LymeBlog News

An anatomy of misinformation and Internet harassment by Lyme disease associations

Although researching organizations and Action Alerts is not an easy task, we all need to check the facts before firing off phone calls, faxes and emails to politicians

I would hope that everyone reading this article would know by now that when they receive emails containing false information that they have not really won the Nigerian Lottery, that Microsoft will not really send them thousands of dollars if they forward an email to 8 people, and that the little boy who is dying will not really receive money if they forward the email to everyone they know. Most of these misinformation emails are familiar to all of us. These emails are worded in such a way as to motivate the reader to action out of hope of personal gain or a desire to help someone. The old saying is, "When something sounds too good to be true it usually is."

Recently there has been a rash of misinformation email and Internet campaigns with various political agendas spread by persons representing major political parties. Unlike the notices above, these email campaigns contain information meant to enrage the reader and motivate them to take action. These online, political, misinformation campaigns often sound "too bad to be true", but they must be. How else could someone put them on the Internet?

There must be laws which require that information on the Internet be factual, right? Wouldn't someone who spread false information harm their own credibility and, therefore, hurt their own cause?

What follows is this journalist's attempt at dissecting the anatomy of just one such case of a false information campaign: spread using the Internet to one small, special interest group of followers and resulting in well meaning people harassing politicians and spreading a false rumor to everyone they know.

In my opinion, this particular misinformation campaign has damaged the credibility of the perpetrators rather than helping their cause.
In the age of the Internet anyone can claim to be an authority on a subject and quickly spread false rumors to thousands of people
I think I see a formula in most political disinformation campaigns on the Internet:

Step 1 of a disinformation campaign: Claim to be speaking for a large number of people.

Step 2 of a disinformation campaign: Issue a public statement, press release, media interview or letter that contains false, inflammatory, statements or true statements, intended to be inflammatory, which are not relevant to the subject being discussed.

Step 3 of a disinformation campaign: Express indignation and spread emails or Internet announcements, again with false statements or true statements which are not relevant, and ask others to join your fight and spread the word.

Step 4 of a disinformation campaign: Use words and terms in your documents that will incite outrage in your Internet audience with false statements or true statements which are not relevant.

Step 5 of a disinformation campaign: Keep your attacks simple and include very little, or no, actual explanation of your position.

Step 6 of a disinformation campaign: Make it necessary for the object of your attack to make lengthy, complicated responses or explanations which most people will not understand.

Step 7 of a disinformation campaign: If the object of your misinformation campaign: responds, escalate your attack. Keep repeating the false statements or true statements which are not relevant.

We are looking at an "Action Alert" from someone claiming to represent a national organization. If the communication contains inflammatory wording and logical accusations the reader is motivated to spread the word to everyone they know and, in the Internet age, that requires little more than clicking on FORWARD in their email program.

If the false "Action Alert" calls for the reader to contact a politician and includes suggested wording for an email, fax, or telephone call it makes that action that much easier. If the names, phone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses of the politicians are included it makes it almost an effortless task on the part of the reader to take action.

What if the false information comes from someone who claims to speak for anywhere from 4 to 35 organizations depending on to whom they are making the claim?

SR-133 in New Jersey and Lyme disease:

When New Jersey State Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-16) decided to sponsor a resolution to urge the Governor to encourage a private business to locate their research center, dedicated to chronic neuroendocrine immune disorders or NEIDs (Senate Resolution no. 133) in the State of New Jersey he must have thought it would be a "slam dunk".

Senator Bateman is a conservative, “Taxpayer Champion” who does not shy away from expressing his opinion on controversial issues. He has 15 years experience in state government.

But this resolution should not be a controversial issue. This should not require a lot of the Senator's time or staff resources. After all, his co-sponsor is from the other side of the aisle, Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-37), so there should not be opposition along party lines. There should not be any opposition from the federal government, both the National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approve of the research center. Patient advocate groups should be supportive, after all, the more research into their ailments the better. Easy job, write the resolution, get it through committee and get a vote to pass it.

Beside, this is not like a bill, this is not trying to pass a law, this is basically asking the Governor to encourage a private industry to locate in the Garden State. It is good for the economy which is good for his constituents.

I can only imagine the Senator's surprise when he received a letter dated October 6, 2009, from a person claiming to be the president of the "national Lyme Disease Association" (note that national is not capitalized in the letter therefore is not part of the official name of the organization). This letter is supposedly representing the views of 35 affiliate organizations. The letter is signed by Patricia V. Smith, President, Lyme Disease Association, Inc.

Step 1 of a disinformation campaign: Claim to be speaking for a large number of people.

Smith includes a list of 33 organizations with the name of the ...