Dr Horowitz who has treated thousands of
patients for chronic Lyme disease has come up with a 16 point map for diagnosing and treating
people with chronic Lyme disease, which he refers to as MSIDS (refer to my previous post on this). MSIDS is a term which is not yet accepted by
mainstream medical practitioners.
According to Dr Horowitz, MSIDS stands for
Multiple Systemic Infectious Diseases Syndrome. He believes that chronically
ill, complex patients, no matter which diagnosis they have, often have
simultaneous multiple bacterial, parasitic, viral, and fungal infections which
complicate their illnesses and the diagnosis of that illness.
He also believes that these people have
associated immune dysfunction, large environmental toxin loads, hormonal
disorders, mitochondrial dysfunction, allergies, functional metabolic
abnormalities, sleep problems, and underlying psychological disorders. All
these conditions need to be assessed and treated in order to get a full
recovery.
In order to cure these complex cases Dr Horowitz
has devised a 16 point MSIDS map model which systematically identifies and treats
all the related conditions associated with the chronic infection. The MSIDS map
looks at and treats the 16 simultaneous reasons why these patients are
suffering and not getting better with traditional treatment. Many patients
suffer from many overlapping factors
identified in the map and this of course complicates the clinical symptoms and
diagnosis of the illness.
He has used his model to successfully cure
people suffering from chronic illnesses which to date have been diagnosed as
some sort of non-specific condition such as CFS Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He
reports he has already had huge success treating patients with these
conditions.
His 16 point differential diagnostic map and treatment
plan goes into more detail in his book: "Why
Can't I Get Better". He advocates that each point in his plan is
investigated step by step. If the patient is suffering from symptoms related to
the step, then treat the underlying cause and then move to the next step. The
16 steps he discusses in his book are:
1.
Lyme and co-infections
2.
Immunity
3.
Inflammation
4.
Environmental toxins
5.
Nutrition
6.
Mitochondria
7.
Endocrine system
8.
Neuro-generative disorders
9.
Mental state
10.
Sleep
11.
Autonomic nervous system and POTS
12.
Allergies
13.
Stomach issues
14.
Liver
15.
Pain
16.
Exercise
He has proven that his model can be applied to individuals
with complex chronic medical disorders, to help solve the mystery of their
illness, as well as providing treatment options that have not been available
before. His goal in presenting the MSIDS map is to offer sufferers a broad
based solution for Lyme disease and the related co-infections that provides a
bridge for the two opposing medical groups (IDSA and ILADS) so that they can join
together and help all of these patients.
Dr Horowitz believes that people with chronic
conditions such as Lyme disease, CFS, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis,
rheumatoid arthritis, and Lupus etc would all benefit from a treatment plan
using his 16 point map model. All these patients have similar symptoms such as
have fatigue, trouble sleeping, neurological systems, poor memory, joint and
muscle pain, environmental toxins, food sensitivities and allergies, hormonal
imbalances and so on. These diseases all mimic each other. It is just that the
root cause for each disease has not yet been identified.
He states that the one common denominator for
chronic Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and other related
conditions is inflammation. The MSIDS model is still applicable if you do not
have Lyme because it is still the same inflammatory problem at the core. These patients
may have the same symptoms whether they have Borrelia or not. If they have not
got Borrelia then they have non-Lyme MSIDS. Dr Horowitz has found that the most
common infections which cause patients to remain chronically ill are Lyme
disease, Babesia, Bartonella and mycoplasma. These can persist despite
seemingly adequate therapy.
Dr Horowitz says that if we look at all the
medical causes for chronic illness on the MSIDS map, we see that it can be bacterial
infections, viral infections, parasitic infections, or a candida/fungal
infection, but since Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are
heterogeneous states, you may find each person has a different combination of
infections, different viruses, different toxins, different hormone imbalances
and so on, even though you are labelling it as Lyme disease, MSIDS, non-Lyme
MSIDS, CFS fibromyalgia or whatever else it still results in the same or
similar symptoms with the same inflammatory pathway causing the symptoms.
Once the infection is treated properly, food
sensitivities and allergies removed, mineral deficiencies replaced, hormones
rebalanced, inflammation and cytokines decreased, and patients
detoxed using glutathione, they are going to feel a lot better. The key is
always going back to the MSIDS map and determining how many overlapping factors
may be causing the clinical symptoms of the illness.
Dr Horowitz believes that if we were to apply the 16 point MSIDS map
to these chronic patients who do not respond to usual treatment, and see how
many abnormalities they have, we might find that each one is different, but if
we get them to sleep, take away their food sensitivities, pull out the heavy
metals, replace any mineral deficiencies (like zinc), balance their hormones,
and adequately treat all the infections which drive inflammation, they will
probably feel a whole lot better.
Dr Horowitz plan uses combinations of
antibiotics to reduce bacterial load and target all the different forms of the
Borrelia infection (cell wall, intracellular, cystic forms, also targeting
biofilms). Anti- parasite and anti-viral drugs also need to be given when
appropriate. The key is to rotate treatment protocols and use the 16 point plan
to reduce inflammation so that antibiotics can be given for a lesser time. Most
patients with a history of persistent Lyme symptoms then need to stay on an
effective herbal protocol for months to years after traditional treatment
protocols or they will relapse.
The MSIDS model ensures that all sources of inflammation are
being addressed. Whilst infections clearly play one of the largest roles in
keeping people sick, the "sickness syndrome" of fatigue, joint pain, muscle
pain, brain fog and mood disorder is primarily due to inflammatory cytokines,
and can be caused by multiple overlapping factors on the MSIDS model.
A patient will not get better unless you can get
patients to sleep, clear up the nutritional deficiencies, remove their
sensitive/allergic foods, balance their hormones, address their dysautonomia
and mitochondrial dysfunction, detoxify them from neurotoxins as well as
environmental toxins, and decrease their associated inflammation. All of these
are part of the 16
point MSIDS model, which is highly recommend it to any patient with chronic
persistent symptoms who has failed traditional therapies.
.
.Addressing all 16 points on the map will
reduce the symptoms and send the Lyme disease into remission. It is possible to
cure early Lyme disease so it is critical seek treatment ASAP if you think you
may have it. But chronic Lyme disease is more difficult to cure. However, we
live with viruses and bacteria in our bodies all the time and our immune system
keeps them in check. It is a matter of finding balance, and getting the
infectious load down to a point where your immune system takes over, and keeps
these symptoms at bay.
