Looking at Lyme

In this episode of the Looking at Lyme podcast we welcome Dorothy and Rachel Leland, a dynamic mother and daughter duo who are changing the way we understand Lyme disease through their writing and their drive to convey important information to help Lyme patients and those around them. Rachel and Dorothy are co-authors of the book Finding Resilience: A Teen's Journey Through Lyme Disease. In the book, Rachel recounts her difficult journey through Lyme disease and co-infections. She is now a speech language pathology assistant. Dorothy is president of Lymedisease.org, an internationally renowned organization and platform for Lyme disease education, advocacy and research. She is also author of the online blog, Touched by Lyme. Full show notes at www.lookingatlyme.caLymedisease.orgFinding Resilience: A Teen's Journey Through Lyme Disease

In this podcast, we're excited to speak with Dr. Monica Embers, associate professor in the division of immunology, director of vector borne disease research, and director of the education and training program at the Tulane Primate Research Center. Dr. Embers’ research is focused on the detection of persistent Lyme disease in human autopsy tissues, identifying treatments to eradicate Borrelia infection and immunodiagnosis of Borrelia burgdorferi infection and cure. Her team is also developing research models for Bartonella infection. lookingatlyme.ca/2024/04/lyme-persistence-combination-antibiotic-research-monica-embersMonica E. Embers, Phd, at Tulane University

Janet Sperling is an entomologist, researcher and president of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation. During her early years studying entomology, she recalls that at that time, Lyme disease seemed very simple. When living in the US, Janet interacted with several people that had a much broader understanding of the disease. When her son contracted Lyme disease years later, it became evident how complicated the disease could be. She points out that not only is it very complicated, it can be very different from one person to the next. www.canlyme.com/janet-sperling/www.lookingatlyme.ca/2024/03/59-lyme-disease-canada-janet-sperling/

Welcome to Season 5 of the Looking at Lyme podcast! As we move forward with Season 5, we’d like to thank Sarah Cormode for the incredible work she’s done over the past several years, leading the way with the podcast and several other CanLyme educational initiatives. Sarah carried the podcast from our first episode of Season 1 to the end of Season 4. In Season 5 we welcome Sofia Osborne, podcast host and science journalist, along with Catherine Kinsella, who has been working behind the scenes on the podcast for the past four seasons. We have an exciting lineup too! We’ll be exploring the latest in research, healthcare, education, and prevention to increase knowledge and explore solutions for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our listeners. Stay tuned to Looking at Lyme by subscribing wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts! Show notes: www.lookingatlyme.ca/2024/03/season-five-of-looking-at-lyme-coming-soon/

In this podcast we catch up with Dr. Leona Gilbert to take an inside look at the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia, and find out how it interacts with our cells and how it can evade our immune system. Dr. Gilbert has a doctorate in biotechnology with an extensive background in bio-innovation and bio-business. We’ll also find out more about her research and the impact it is having on how we understand Lyme disease and associated infections. Dr. Gilbert is originally from Canada and is now based in Finland. Learn more at www.lookingatlyme.ca.

In this podcast, Sarah is joined by Dr.Diane Mueller, a naturopathic physician from Colorado who specializes in treating Lyme disease, mold illness and hormonal imbalances. She is also an educator and speaker, and author of the book It's Not In Your Mind: Solutions and Strategies for Lyme Disease, Mold Illness, and Chronic Infections. She joins us from Colorado. Read our full show notes on www.lookingatlyme.ca: episode 57.

In this episode of Looking at Lyme, we explore how Lyme disease and other infections can appear dramatically different in children. Sometimes strep and other infections can even cause a sudden onset of neurological and behavioral changes in children. We welcome a world leader in this field to the podcast, Dr. Nancy O’Hara. Read the full show notes at www.lookingatlyme.ca.

Are your employees at risk of a tick encounter in their workplace? There are several ways to reduce the risk of tick bites and Lyme disease. Education is paramount and includes learning how to avoid ticks, what to do when bitten, and knowing the early signs of Lyme disease. Safe and timely tick removal can also reduce the risk of infection with Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. CanLyme is offering a significant price reduction for bulk orders for our Tick Removal Kit. CANLYME’S TICK REMOVAL KIT has everything you need to properly remove and store a tick for further identification and testing, and is easy to pack and find in a backpack, glove box, first aid kit and in your workplace.

Thank you to all of our guests for sharing your time and expertise with us! We launched season four with several back-to-back episodes that were all about the brain and limbic system, including different approaches to address these issues. We then looked to the outdoors and explored prevention strategies, including ways to address tick encounters in school grounds and workplaces. We wrapped up season four with an important discussion (our 55th podcast!) with Dr. Brian Fallon about Lyme disease and mental health. AND…we launched our new podcast survey. Read more about season four.

In this podcast, Sarah talks with Dr. Brian Fallon about the cognitive and mental health manifestations of Lyme disease, and about some of his past and future research collaborations. Dr. Fallon is a physician, researcher, author, and Director of the Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases (TBD) Research Center and the Lyme and TBD Clinical Trials Coordinating Center at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. His work is focussed on the neuropsychiatric and persistent symptoms related to Lyme disease. www.lookingatlyme.caFull show notesCurrent research collaborationsDr. Brian A Fallon

We are approaching the end of Season 4, and Looking at Lyme is looking for your feedback in our new podcast survey! We have interviewed so many interesting guests over the past few years: it’s hard to believe that we are finishing up our 4th Season with our 55th podcast! We want to hear from you. We want to know what content you are enjoying and ideas about who we might interview in future episodes. Please fill out the survey and let us know! Take our survey: www.canlyme.com/survey/

A growing concern for industries and employees across the country is the risk of a tick encounter in the workplace. Both employers and employees can take important steps to raise awareness and reduce the risk of tick bites and tick-borne illnesses. Sarah addresses safety in the workplace in these podcasts with Jordan Tesluk and Tim Tchida. Providing employees with a CanLyme Tick Removal Kit helps to ensure safe and timely tick removal, and testing ticks for pathogens can provide important information regarding potential exposure to those pathogens. Show notes.

A growing concern for many outdoor workers across the country is the risk of a tick encounter in their workplace. Fortunately there are steps that employers and employees can take to reduce the risk of tick bites and tick-borne illnesses. Increased awareness is an important first step, and creating and implementing policies in the workplace helps keep employees safe and businesses running efficiently. In this podcast, Sarah is joined by Jordan Tesluk, a Forestry Safety Advocate for silviculture and consultant forestry in British Columbia. full show notesCanLyme Tick Removal KitMore on tick testingMapping ticks in Canada

Ticks can be found in our backyards, parks and school grounds, and for thousands of Canadians, they can also be found in their workplace. Foresters, linesmen, landscapers, and tree planters are among the many outdoor workers who are at risk of encountering ticks in their day-to-day work. Even people who work indoors such as veterinarians and pet groomers are potentially exposed to this occupational hazard. In this podcast, we connect again with Tim Tchida, a business operator in the reforestation industry. He has been an industry leader in raising awareness about tick borne illnesses. Read the full show notes.

When it comes to Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, prevention is paramount! There are some basic steps you can take to protect yourself and your family, including applying insect repellent before going outdoors. Keeping a supply of insect spray near the door, in your pack and in your car makes that important step even easier. Read the show notes.

In this podcast, Sarah is joined by two Canadian women who have joined forces to create, research, and sell tick repellants made without harsh chemicals. Lisa Learning is an Indigenous entrepreneur and founder of AtlanTick repellent products. She joins us from Blockhouse, Nova Scotia. Nancy Thompson is her business partner and research collaborator. She joins us from Squamish, British Columbia. Read the full show notesAtlanTickDr. Nicoletta Faraone, Acadia UniversityBehavioral responses of Ixodes scapularis tick to natural products: development of novel repellentsChemosensory and Behavioural Responses of Ixodes scapularis to Natural Products: Role of Chemosensory Organs in Volatile Detection

What can employers do to protect staff who work in the outdoors? In this flashback podcast, Sarah explores some answers to that question with Tim Tchida, Owner and CEO of Summit Reforestation in Smithers BC. When Tim first heard about Lyme disease, he never imagined getting the disease himself. Tim recalls first learning he had Lyme disease after receiving a positive Canadian Lyme test (western blot) following mild symptoms of the disease. As time went on, he realized how fortunate he was to receive a diagnosis in light of so many others who have found it very challenging to receive a Lyme diagnosis in Canada. Read the Season 2 show notes.

This flashback episode is from season two! Sarah announces an Educator Resource for Lyme disease, and speaks with the lead resource developer, Lauren Hudson. Lauren is an educator and parent with a passion for science, life and for going into nature with her students and her family. She took a deep dive into the world of Lyme disease to help develop an educator resource to help other teachers both learn and teach about ticks and tick-borne illnesses. Lauren recalls her own journey of learning about tick-borne illnesses from members of the Lyme Education Awareness and Prevention (LEAP) team. Lauren helped develop the Educators’ Resource as a tool to empower teachers to learn and teach others about ticks and tick-borne illnesses. The resource consists of three modules along with three activities per module and numerous slides and images to compliment the written material. The initial resource covers information about ticks and how to identify them, what people need to know before and after going outdoors, as well as the basics of Lyme disease. She points out that it can be used not only by educators in schools, but also in other settings such as outdoor education. It has also been designed to be accessible to diverse ways of learning and different learning styles. Read the show notes Get the Educator Resource

This interview with Dr. Ralph Hawkins is from season one! Dr. Hawkins has been treating Lyme patients in Canada for many years, gaining a wealth of knowledge about the disease. He recounts his introduction to the shortcomings of Lyme disease testing in Canada while treating a patient with a history of multiple previous tick bites, many common symptoms of Lyme disease, but a negative Canadian Lyme test. Dr. Hawkins had the patient’s blood tested at a University Lab in New York, revealing test band patterns consistent with Lyme disease. He referred this patient to Infectious Diseases colleagues for treatment, but quickly found out that the diagnosis of late stage Lyme disease is not generally recognized by the Infectious Diseases community. He was advised to not only drop this case, but to avoid other similar cases. The recommendation to avoid such patients sparked Dr. Hawkins’ curiosity and interest, inspiring him to dive deeply into the research and history of Lyme disease. Dr. Hawkins walks us through the current testing protocols for Lyme disease in Canada, explaining why some patients with Lyme disease receive a negative test result. He explains the difference between current testing in Canada and tests done in other parts of the world, highlighting a test done in Germany that he often relies on when diagnosing patients, and touching on the approval process for such tests by Health Canada. Without better testing, Canadians with Lyme disease continue to fall through the cracks of the healthcare system. Dr. Hawkins refers to a recent analysis of Lyme diagnosis in Canada in which researchers speculate that in some areas, two thirds of Lyme cases go unreported. With this in mind he points out that, in light of the severity of untreated Lyme disease, a trial period of treatment for Lyme disease would be valid for certain patients with negative Canadian serology. Thank you Dr. Hawkins for walking with us down the bumpy road of Lyme disease testing and treatment in Canada!

In this flash back episode, Sarah explores the latest research on astrocytes, gut bacteria and neuroinflammation with scientist and medical researcher Dr. Francisco Quintana. Dr. Quintana is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He describes some of the causes of neuroinflammation including infection, tumours and auto-immune disease. So what does all of that have to do with astrocytes? Astrocytes are a type of glial cell found in the central nervous system. These cells were first described over 100 years ago and were given their celestial name because they are shaped like a star. Even though they are the most abundant type of cell in the brain, Dr. Quintana points out that we are just now beginning to understand their function. One of the important functions of the glymphatic system is in regulating the movement of fluids in and out of the brain. Once seen as having more of a supportive role in the brain, astrocytes are now understood to help regulate inflammation – an important finding in the study of diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimers and Parkinson’s disease. In fact, Dr. Quintana states that the astrocytes can, “boost and drive inflammation and that’s very important because, so far, we have no therapies to actually suppress those pro-inflammatory activities.” Read the full show notes.