The 'Library'

The Research Area of this Website..

This page is intended to be the backbone of this website: the repository of all of the supporting scientific journal research. The major sections of the Library are:

	The Stacks ....The workhorse section of this page. The place where the researched journal articles are found. I list it at the top because I personally believe it is the most important.
	The Periodicals Room....Links to homepages of the various lyme periodicals or other interesting newsletters.
	The Reference Room ....Links to other lyme or sites or information, or other sites of interest. *This* would be the area to continue your search for other lyme information, pictures of bull's eye rashes, ticks, etc. I list it in bold highlight, because I personally believe that you would find this to be most important.

The Stacks

This portion of the website holds the completed research from various medical journal articles. In the attempt to bring some order to the list (desiring to list each article only once, with no duplication) I have grouped these articles into two main groups: by subject and by product, with some natural groupings below these. The entire set of groupings are arbitrary and of my own choice, but does help to bring some order to the list. For additional clarity, in some articles I have added some cross-keywords (in parenthesis).

Articles listed by subject content...

	Antioxidants in general
	Antibacterials, natural
	Arthritis
	Cancer
	Lyme and Military
	Lyme and "Other-than-tick" Transmission
	Multiple Sclerosis

Articles listed by product type...

	Aloe
	Colloidal Silver
	Pycnogenol (or proanthocyanidin)

Articles by content...

Antioxidants in general

	Effect of red wine ingestion on the antioxidant capacity of serum (wine, vitamin C, pycnogenol)
	Serum antioxidants and age-related macular degeneration in a population-based case-control study.

Antibacterials, natural

Flavanones with potent antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. (nothing of great interest here, unless antibiotic-resistant treatments are of interest.)

Arthritis

	The joint, a redox sensitive microenvironment?--an hypothesis (antioxidants, pycnogenol)
	Serum antioxidants and risk of rheumatoid arthritis. (antioxidants, pycnogenol)
	Effects of oral administration of type II collagen on rheumatoid arthritis (scientific relationship between taking a [unnamed product]-type product and reduction of arthritis)
	A pilot trial of oral type II collagen in the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. (another article relating the relationship between taking a [unnamed product]-type product and reduction of arthritis)
	Suppression of type II collagen-induced arthritis by the intravenous administration of type II collagen or its constituent peptide alpha 1 (II) CB10 (one more such article)

Cancer

	Diet and oxidative stress in breast, colon and prostate cancer patients: a case- control study. (cancer, oxidative relationship, deficiency of vitamins -- a must read for the vitamin issue!)
	Multivitamin Use, Folate, and Colon Cancer in Women in the Nurses' Health Study (ANOTHER example of the relationship between multivitamin intake and reduced incidence of cancer!)
	Ability of m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid to induce the ornithine decarboxylase marker of skin tumor promotion and inhibition of this response by gallotannins, oligomeric proanthocyanidins, and their monomeric units in mouse epidermis in vivo. ( pycnogenol and protection against skin tumor production)

Lyme and Military

Spring Brings Tick Threat to Peace Enforcers (not only ticks, but mosquitoes, sand flies, fleas, mites, biting flies, and lice, too.)

Lyme and "Other-than-tick" Transmission

	Lyme Disease Transmitted by a Biting Fly (This article is one of the few in published literature that documents that Lyme can be transmitted by other-than-tick. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1990)
	Etiologic and epidemiologic questions posed by erythema chronicum migrans and Lyme disease. Apropos of 4 cases at the Regional Hospital Center, Rennes
	The global distribution of Lyme disease. (Lyme is found in places where no known vector (e.g. tick) is known to exist.)
	Lyme disease in Canada with possible transmission by an insect.

Multiple Sclerosis

Gut mucosal immunity and oral tolerance (This article discusses the connection between the taking of a "type II collagen" --or at least a closely related protein-- and the reduction of MS)

Articles by product type...

Aloe (none yet... expected to soon follow)

Colloidal Silver -- The entire group of articles below cautions against the use of colloidal silver (even though this is a product I have taken, and still occasionally take in very small doses). I remember as a result of a college lab experiment, the temporary experience of argyria. The blue/gray color of the skin is not a pretty sight... and it is normally permanent!! (The picture in this link and its accompanying article say it best.)

The whole controvery of the issue seems to center around that the risk is related to the quantity ingested -- and whether or not it's true that silver ingestion is cumulative. (Another known triggering risk is exposure to sunlight.) Those who are advocates of colloidal silver use believe that the "modern" methods of silver production (electro-colloidal) produce particles that are far smaller than in previous times. And, the belief goes, these particles are readily excreted through the kidneys — not building up in the tissues as previous suspected.

In the time since I've first posted this information here, I've come to change my opinion as to the degree of potential danger. And I want to publish this here. In the two year intervening period, I've known a lot of people who have taken dosages that are far higher, and for far longer than would have triggered the argyria condition. Now, this, by itself doesn't demostrate that argyria hasn't recently occured. This would assume that if someone did acquire argyria, that he'd report it openly. Unlikely. Nonetheless, I believe that I would've heard something by this time. Therefore, the assertion is probably correct, that "modern" electro-colloidal silver is safe.

However, there still remains the possibility that it is not. And ultimately this must become the responsibility of the one who makes that choice to take it or not. In the end, and for this reason, I still leave all of the initial research that I 'd found listed below, to help one make a more informed decision. You will note that most of the articles are from several years back (supporting the thesis that it was the "older" colloidal silver that was dangerous.)

For your information, however, I once had figured by molecular weights (from the article below, Silver-blue nails) that, at the dosage recommended of one teaspoon per day, one would reach this cumulative argyria level at three years duration (using a 20ppm solution).

The prudent would still be cautious.

	A beginning definition...
	Silver products for medical indications: risk-benefit assessment.
	Argyria in children
	Argyria.
	Systemic argyria secondary to topical silver nitrate. (emotional aspect)
	Silver-blue nails. (a referenced quantity)
	Brain involvement in generalized argyria.
	Demonstration of regional blood-brain barrier permeability in human brain.
	Generalized argyrosis
	Argyriasis. Report of a case (author's transl)
	Generalized argyria secondary to chewing photographic film. Report of a case.
	General argyria caused by administration of tobacco-withdrawal tablets containing silver acetate
	Argyria: clinical implications of exposure to silver nitrate and silver oxide.
	Acute silver poisoning through inhalation.
	Argyria and cyanotic heart disease. -- (a mis-diagnosis of what was truly argyria)
	Hypoactivity in silver exposed mice.

In all fairness, the articles below have at least some positive things to say about silver. Kinda.

	Outbreak of erythromycin-resistant staphylococcal conjunctivitis in a newborn nursery. (this article is the best scientific argument for the use of silver)
	Comparison of the in-vitro activities of the topical antimicrobials azelaic acid, nitrofurazone, silver sulphadiazine and mupirocin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
	Silver sulfadiazine: an antibacterial agent for topical use in burns. A review of the literature.
	Absence of toxic effects in silver reclamation workers. (a dissenting opinion of silver dangers)
	Silver-coated nylon fiber as an antibacterial agent.
	Bactericidal effect of hydrated lime in aqueous solution
	The interaction of colloidal metals with erythrocytes.

In sum, silver probably works, but needs to be used with extreme caution.

Pycnogenol (or proanthocyanidin) -- These following are all compelling articles !!

	Effects of proanthocyanidin on normal and reinnervated rat muscle. (Restoring function to severed nerves.)
	Pycnogenol protects vascular endothelial cells from t-butyl hydroperoxide induced oxidant injury. (an absolute must read!! References cancer, atherosclerosis, aging, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases)
	Immunomodulation by pycnogenol in retrovirus-infected or ethanol-fed mice. (Immune system)
	Evidence by in vivo and in vitro studies that binding of pycnogenols to elastin affects its rate of degradation by elastases. (Pycnogenol protects elastin -- major compound in skin and blood vessel walls -- from degradation.)

The Periodicals Room

Initially, this was to have been a listing of links to medical periodicals; but I personally don't believe anyone read them. Correct me if I'm wrong. So... this has become a listing of links to lyme periodicals, or other medical periodicals that I have considered worthwhile. (Send me the listings of your favorite lyme periodicals.)

	Harvard Health Letter -- not a journal per se, but a wonderful* health resource.*
	Immunity Online
	Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report -- a CDC publication

The Reference Room

A listing of other lyme sites, and other links to relevant or fascinating web sites.

Lyme Sites:

	Nancy Berntsen's Lyme site and the site of her support group.
	Lyme Disease & Tick Borne Information Resource Donna Herrell's excellent site.
	Lymenet.Org An excellent resource site, with very good pictures of lyme (bulls-eye) rashes.

(and others -- send us your favorite links)

Other Relevant or Interesting Sites:

	Search MEDLINE -- the National Institute of Health medical database. Medline is the database where most of the journal articles on this page were found.
	Managing Lyme Disease: Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines for Tick Borne Illnesses This is the excellent "Guidelines" recommendations by Joseph J. Burrascano, Jr., M.D..

Wilson's Syndrome -- This one is a strong recommendation to read!! A fascinating account of a syndrome (and treatment) that sounds very related to lyme.

Webmaster's quick note: This above link is no longer functioning. This is highly unfortunate as the information there was some of the most important I'd seen for anyone with a low body temperature (most lyme people). I now deeply wish I had saved this information in my own file, but I am now trying to re-build it from what I'd once sent to a friend. Check back in the future.

Meanwhile, this following link also gives information on Wilson's Syndrome, and is in fact Denis Wilson, MD's, very own web site. I personally don't think it's as well written as the other site was, but at least if gives you the good information. (And Dr. Wilson, too!) The link that I've chosen "lands" around the middle of his FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page, at a place that I thought most interesting to begin reading. The rest of the page (up and down from there) is highly informative.

Sci.Med.Diseases.Lyme -- the Lyme newsgroup. Outstanding support group!

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Site most recently modified: January 10, 2008