Helping (and Helpful) Lyme Disease Organizations:

California Lyme Disease Association - www.lymedisease.org

The California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA) is a non-profit corporation acting as the central voice for all tick-borne disease issues in California and a supporting voice for national issues. Through research, advocacy, and education of the public and healthcare professionals, CALDA seeks to prevent tick-borne diseases, encourage early diagnosis, and improve the quality of healthcare provided to people with tick-borne diseases.

Lyme In Autism Foundation - www.lymeinducedautism.org

The goal of this organization is to provide education, awareness and research into an infectious based cause of autism. Yes..Lyme/borrelia is our PRIME suspect, but we realize that this is multiple infections happening on a disabled immune system and these infections can be triggered by many factors including but not limited to vaccines, chemicals/pesticides, electromagnetic frequency and a whole host of environmental factors. When we consider all options, only then will our kids be able to begin improving.

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society - www.ILADS.org

ILADS is a nonprofit, international, multidisciplinary medical society, dedicated to the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of Lyme and its associated diseases. ILADS promotes understanding of Lyme and its associated diseases through research and education and strongly supports physicians and other health care professionals dedicated to advancing the standard of care for Lyme and its associated diseases.

Lyme Disease Association - www.lymediseaseassociation.org

The Lyme Disease Association (LDA) is dedicated to Lyme disease education, prevention, and raising research dollars. About ninety-six cents of every dollar raised by the Lyme Disease Association has been used on programs. In its search for a cure for chronic Lyme, the LDA has already funded dozens of research projects coast to coast through researchers at institutions such as Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, NJ Medical School (UMDNJ), Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, and University of Pennsylvania. Some of the research has been featured in peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, The Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Infection, Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, JSTBD, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Journal of International Neuropsychological Society, and Infection and Immunology. Very significant genome work initially funded by LDA has shown that different strains of Borrelia have the ability to exchange genetic material among themselves, a trait greatly benefiting their survival and probably confounding the body's ability to eradicate the organism.

Places to Avoid ( from lyme.kaiserpapers.info )

Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Lyme Guidelines. These guidelines are the basis for the denial of Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment by HMO's and insurance companies. 14 authors and cohorts with significant conflicts of interest seem to control much f the published information on Lyme disease. Unfortunately, these guidelines are blindly followed by most doctors who have little or no knowledge about Lyme disease and rely on normally sound and dependable information from the prestigious IDSA. The IDSA guidelines are also promoted by CDC Lyme scientists, many of whom have profit interests in Lyme disease. An antitrust suit was filed by the Connecticut Attorney General and a settlement was reached, which will force the guidelines to be reviewed.

• See also Attorney General's Investigation Reveals Flawed Lyme Disease Guideline Process, IDSA Agrees To Reassess Guidelines, Install Independent Arbiter, May 1, 2008.
• Note basis for ongoing racketeering investigation: "In fact,United Healthcare,Health Net, Blue Cross of California, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and other insurers have used the guidelines as justification to deny reimbursement for long-term antibiotic treatment."
• And wonder why Lyme-Denialist Kaiser-Permanente was chosen as the Halliburtonesque-contractor in charge of the "Unexplained Dermopathy Investigation" of a disease already associated with Lyme disease.

American Lyme Disease Foundation. The ALDF is essentially an arm of those relative few who have controlled Lyme disease information for decades. This includes some of the authors of the IDSA Lyme disease guidelines. The ALDF also has ties to the CDC and vice-versa. The ALDF was formed by James Connolly of Castle & Connolly, an HMO advocate. The ALDF and its members have profit interests in Lyme disease. http://www.aldf.com/

Quackwatch's Lyme disease information was prepared by Dr. Edward McSweegan, formerly the Lyme disease program manager for the National Institutes of Health. For various reasons, Dr. McSweegan was removed as the NIH Lyme disease program manager. One of the more bizarre series of incidents was stalking and harassing a founder of the Lyme Disease Foundation; Karen Vanderhoof-Forschner. Quackwatch has been successfully sued by patient advocates. They appear to be sponsored by HMO's and Big Pharma.