ASPIRE Blog

So here we are, graduating by the skin of our teeth. Today with 13 months of sobriety. Just out of another flare in March, as allergies also trigger his immune system, he is holding a job down in a restaurant. Recording music and instrumental tracks. Fishing with his friends. Working on his car, and looking carefully to his future where he will start at the local JC.

Yeah, you bet. I am one proud mom. 

Antibiotics are the standard of care for Lyme disease treatment. However, it is reported that 10 to 20% of people continue to suffer from Lyme disease after being diagnosed and given a standard antibiotic treatment right away at the start of their illness. I think this number is probably pretty low, and the rates are actually higher. Antibiotics are most effective on the dividing spirochete form of Borrelia burgdorferi when there is an active infection. This bacteria is very smart. They’re much smarter than us, and they will evolve in ways that allow them to be protected. When the spirochete is in its active form, it can divide and reproduce; this is when antibiotics are the most effective in killing them off.

Avis Chan 1, Angeline Truong 2, Bahare Farhadian 3, Theresa Willett 2, Melissa Silverman 1, Paula Tran 1, Margo Thienemann 2 and Jennifer Frankovich4, 1Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo […]

A Talk with Nathan Who is Recovering from PANS/PANDAS, Lyme & CIRS Gabriella: I had a chat with Dr. Nancy O’Hara, Nathan, and his mom a few years ago and […]

Lyme disease, PANS, and the Columbia University Lyme & Tick-borne Research Center. Shannon L. Delaney, MD, Director, Child and Adolescent Evaluation, Lyme & Tick-borne Research Center, is a neuropsychiatrist at […]

ASPIRE thanks the NECH team for continuing to host talks and having ASPIRE write notes to share with the community. Patients of Dr. O’Hara and Dr. Wells can ask additional […]

This was a retrospective study from Wuhan China to examine the dysregulation of the immune response in severe COVID 19 patients using flow cytometry. Of the 452 consecutive patients, 63% were diagnosed with severe COVID 19 and the median age was 58 years. Fifty-one percent of the severe cases had a clinical history of chronic disease and underlying health issues, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes and hypertension.

My message to parents is to listen to your child and trust yourself. We all have strong parental instincts for a reason. I know there will be days when all you want to do is hide under the covers and shut the world out. But, perhaps there will be days when your child is healthy enough that you start to forget how bad it was.

So today, we ask YOU to ask your kids this one question: Without Teachers, what would you have never learned. You can ask about teachers in general or one particular teacher. Then post their answers in the comments below!

Zheng J, Frankovich J, McKenna ES, et al. Association of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome With Microstructural Differences in Brain Regions Detected via Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(5):e204063. […]

Nurses’ Role in PANS/PANDAS What role do nurses play in helping families with PANS/PANDAS? Nurses are an integral part of the team. Nurses are often the first point of contact […]

Tick Testing and Disease Transmission Statistics Gabriella: Thank you to Dr. Rich for talking with ASPIRE today about Tick Report and his lab at U Mass.  Dr. Rich and I […]