I just read, with great interest, the article, An Appalachian Odyssey: Hunting for ALS genes along a sprawling family tree. Such a tragic and heartbreaking saga for such wonderful people. I have late stage chronic Lyme disease and have held support groups for people with chronic illnesses. What I hav seen, over the course of many years, is that there is a definite correlation between Lyme and ALS. I have seen people with "ALS" recover when put on aggressive Lyme treatment. As I have
personally discovered, there is a genetic methylation polymorphism called MTHFR, which prevents people from clearing the toxins produced by the Lyme die off. This must be addressed in order to make progress with the Lyme treatment. After looking at the lovely countryside around Kentucky ALS hot spots, I was thinking - what a fantastic haven for ticks to set up shop!! Perhaps the link between Lyme and ALS has been considered. If not, I add a few links to pertinent articles - and you can Google more. Patients MUST receive PROPER Lyme testing, as there are MANY false negatives. They MUST seek out a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor - LLMD - in order to get proper testing protocols that will decrease false negatives (I was a false negative, at first). IGENICS LAB in California, specializes in Lyme testing. I would SO LOVE for some of these dear folk to benefit fom this correlation and find a light at the end of a long dark tunnel!!
Sincerely,
Pamela
Arizona
MANY MORE