Treatment
Resources on Lyme & COVID
This resource was developed in conjunction with Dr. Richard Horowitz and Dr. Christine Green, who have worked tirelessly to bring effective treatment to Lyme patients, especially in the midst of the COVID pandemic.
*Note, the medical information on this website is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please see our Privacy Policy/Disclaimer for full information.
Systemic Overlaps
Lyme disease and COVID both impact your health across bodily systems. These diseases, while different in genetic make up, have many similarities in symptom presentation which can make them difficult to diagnosis and hard to treat.
One of the most impactful commonalities is a cell division caused by infection known as cytokine release syndrome or a cytokine storm. This is when an infection triggers your immune system to flood your bloodstream with inflammatory proteins called cytokines. They can even kill tissue and damage your organs.
For a full list of symptom overlaps, use the chart. To learn more about the patient experience, treatment methods, and emerging research, watch the webinar and read the presentation below.
Watch Long-haul COVID and Persistent Lyme: Is There a Silver Lining?
This event brought together national experts and patient to explore how these two diseases may be confused and address the ongoing health repercussions they each represent – particularly as outdoor activities increase and Lyme disease continues to be widely misdiagnosed.
Dr. Horowitz and Dr. Green outline their treatment protocols, which they have effectively used to address symptoms of long term multisystemic diseases including Lyme disease and COVID. David Roth & Laure Woods, patients who have had both illnesses, share their experiences being treated using the doctors protocols.
Integrative Medicine
Dr. Horowitz recently presented at the University of Arizona Integrative Medical Summit. In this presentation, he discussed the well known difficulties in diagnostic testing, identifying symptoms, and accurately tracking case numbers.
Additionally, his presentation provided an in depth look at how he has been effectively identifying and treating persistent Lyme patients by
- following clinical diagnoses based on his MSIDS questionnaire, which you can take on our website.
- identifying recent developments in biofilms and persister cells, which you can learn more about on our Lyme Persists page.
- explaining the efficacy of using dapsone, glutathione, and ivermectin to effectively treat Lyme & COVID patients, which you can find supporting research for in the below presentation.
Supporting Research
Studies on the use of Glutathione
- Horowitz, R.I., Freeman P, Bruzzese, J. Efficacy of glutathione therapy in relieving dyspnea associated with COVID-19 pneumonia: A report of 2 cases. Respiratory Medicine Case Reports, April 21, 2020. Article Number: 101063 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmcr.2020.101063
Studies on the use of Dapsone
- Horowitz, R.I.; Freeman, P.R. Efficacy of Double-Dose Dapsone Combination Therapy in the Treatment of Chronic Lyme Disease/Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) and Associated Co-infections: A Report of Three Cases and Retrospective Chart Review. Antibiotics 2020, 9, 725. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9110725
- Horowitz, R.I., Murali, K., Gaur, G. et al. Effect of dapsone alone and in combination with intracellular antibiotics against the biofilm form of B. burgdorferi. BMC Res Notes 13, 455 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-05298-6
- https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13104-020-05298-6?fbclid=IwAR0qt8lyjHfOYlC_Z5k_a4DGxa49sYned_6xC8mRz66m2Wirekb0MX0vBRA#citeas
- Horowitz, R.I.; Freeman, P.R. Precision Medicine: retrospective chart review and data analysis of 200 patients on dapsone combination therapy for chronic Lyme disease/post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome: part 1. International Journal of General Medicine 2019:12 101–119 https://www.dovepress.com/precision-medicine-retrospective-chart-review-and-data-analysis-of-200-peer-reviewed-article-IJGM
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30863136
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30863136?fbclid=IwAR11hYFa6D-ufSwXztzUEdI9a36vh_90K4Lhu5HN6N-MPMHKzNWt1ldoDyI
Studies on use of Ivermectin for COVID-19
Its use has shown a 5000-fold Reduction in Viral RNA. Over 26 Studies show positive effects. Below are the most relevant.
- Caly, L. et al. The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Antiviral Research Volume 178, June 2020, 104787
- Hill A, Abdulamir A, Ahmed S et al. Meta-analysis of randomized trials of ivermectin to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. 2021. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-148845/v1
- Fatemeh Heidary et al. Ivermectin: a systematic review from antiviral effects to COVID-19 complementary regimen. The Journal of Antibiotics. 17 May 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41429-020-0336-z
- Ivermectin is effective for COVID-19: meta analysis of 26 studies. Covid Analysis, November 26, 2020 (Version 6, December 18, 2020)@CovidAnalysis. https://ivmmeta.com/?fbclid=IwAR1TJL4ZuXXZResPV-xP8L47aV8C0aMlDjtRrnFrezXhOCsku17QDj8y3AE
