Can Chronic Lyme disease or MSIDS be Cured with a 16 Point Plan?

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.

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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.

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.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. 

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