Lyme and Autoimmune Disease

When pathogenic infections invade tissues, the bacteria produce LPS (lipopolysaccharides) which are found on their outer cell membrane and promote inflammation. These molecules are produced and fool the host’s immune system into thinking that there is a foreign invader. The body natural mounts an immune response, but the response is against it’s own tissue, yielding autoimmune disease.

Frequently we see autoimmune diseases associated with Lyme Disease and coinfections such as: MS, Lupus, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Scleroderma, Graves Disease, Celiac Disease, etc…Essentially, any tissue in the body can fall prey to autoimmune disease if the autoimmunity is driven by infection.

In 18 years of practice, most of my patient’s autoimmune conditions are completely erradicated with proper longterm antibiotic use as well as targeted nutraceuticals. If you decrease the infection in the tissue, the concentration of LPS decreases, inflammation decreases, and tissues can return to their healthy state. If infection is allowed to persist, autoimmune disease simply gets worse.

It is my belief that most if not all autoimmune disease is infection driven. The challenge becomes to identify the exact pathogen and then treat accordingly.