The Lyme-Autism Connection Paperback Book

Tami Duncan, co-founder of the Lyme-Induced Autism (LIA) Foundation and Bryan Rosner have just finished co-writing a book entitled The Lyme-Autism Connection: Unveiling the Shocking Link Between Lyme Disease and Childhood Developmental Disorders. The book was published in June, 2008 and is now available.

AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT — The Lyme-Autism Connection, a book written in collaboration with the Lyme-Induced Autism (LIA) Foundation, provides critical new research on the emerging science supporting a link between Lyme disease and childhood developmental disorders. 

Awareness of the Lyme-autism connection is spreading rapidly, among both parents and practitioners. Medical Hypothesis, a scientific, peer-reviewed journal published by Elsevier, recently released an influential study entitled "The Association Between Tick-Borne Infections, Lyme Borreliosis and Autism Spectrum Disorders." Here is an excerpt from the study:

From the Book's Introduction: The Twin Epidemics

Over the last decade, two disease epidemics have gone from mild ripples in the water to roaring, ravenous, all-consuming tidal waves, destroying thousands of lives and tearing apart countless families. 

These two diseases are Lyme disease and autism. Until recently, these afflictions were believed to be unrelated. Actually, that is an understatement. They were believed to have absolutely nothing in common, occupying distinct and opposite positions in the medical field. Whereas bronchitis and Strep throat have some relationship in that they are both infections, Lyme disease and autism were thought to have nothing in common at all—one is a tick-borne infection which healthy people contract while camping, and the other is a prenatal brain development disorder. Recently, however, science has found similarities between Lyme disease and autism that cannot be ignored. When one looks beneath the surface of these seemingly diverse disorders, the underlying discoveries are shocking. 

     Table of Contents - 287 Pages

An Investigative Report

Written by health care journalist Bryan Rosner and LIA Foundation co-founder Tami Duncan, this book set out to investigate the explosive increase in both Lyme disease and autism cases. The book is based on objective scientific data as well as the vast wisdom and experience of physicians, researchers and parents. The book was written to explore the simple question, Is there a significant connection between the exploding rates of Lyme disease and autism, and if so, what are the mechanics of that connection? Although the Lyme-autism connection is an area of research that is brand new and continually developing, there is an ever-increasing amount of information and science to support the connection hypothesis. The following are some of the discoveries which were made by the authors and presented in the book:

• Studies spanning the last 30 years have shown that Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative bacteria in Lyme disease) can be transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy, resulting in early childhood infection. John Drulle, M.D., conducted pioneering research in this area in the 1990's—his work is included in the book.  

  What are Physicians Saying about the Lyme-Autism Connection? Dr. Charles Ray Jones speaks at the 2008 Lyme-Induced Autism Foundation Conference in New Jersey

  Dr. Warren Levin describes an experience with an autistic boy who was also diagnosed with Lyme disease Watch the full presentations...

• Autism causes many of the same immune system irregularities that are also present in Lyme disease.

• Numerous infections appear to be involved in autism, not just Borrelia burgdorferi. Borrelia appears to be one of the more important infections due to its skyrocketing prevalence and epidemic proportions.

• The Lyme-autism connection has been substantiated by clinical experience, both in the physician’s office and at home among numerous observant mothers and fathers.

• The symptoms of Lyme disease overlap with the symptoms of autism, and in fact, the two diseases share in common many of the same “mimicking diagnoses,” especially mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and attention deficit disorder (ADD). Both Lyme disease and autism are characterized by clustering of these diseases within family histories.

• The Lyme-autism connection is being studied with increasing frequency, by researchers with an ever-growing list of qualifications and credentials. See video previews to your right.

• The Lyme-autism connection is comprised of not one or two elements, but instead, numerous puzzle pieces which support one another to create and substantiate the connection hypothesis.

• If you intend to take action and apply Lyme disease treatment to your child, please do so only under the supervision of a licensed physician. The book provides guidelines for finding a helpful physician.

• This field is evolving rapidly. To stay up to date, keep connected with the LIA Foundation, www.liafoundation.org. 

Parents themselves are on the front lines of this emerging area of research. In the words of one parent with three autistic children:

"Childhood autism has become so prevalent that there are very few who do not know of a family with an autistic child. Families with two autistic children are not uncommon, and I personally have seen a family in which all three of the family’s children were autistic (very much like mine). 

The latest statistics estimate that over one half million American children are autistic, and with numbers steadily growing, there is no end in sight. 

It can be expected that treatments will improve the outlook of these children, but many or most of them will require custodial care for life, at an average cost to society as much as three million dollars per child. Something must be stirring this explosive epidemic on, and one of the factors which has been greatly overlooked is the Lyme-autism connection."

—Kathy Blanco Mother of 3 autistic children, Contributing Writer, and one of the first researchers to discover the Lyme-Autism connection

Are Genetics or Infections to Blame for the Autism Epidemic?

Bryan and Tami asked the following questions: Why would cases of autism skyrocket over the past couple of decades? If autism is a genetic disorder, as it has been previously believed, how could such a rapid increase occur? Genetic disorders rarely involve such non-linear, exponential explosions in occurrence. Genes just don’t change that fast. Infectious epidemics, on the other hand, such as Lyme disease, can and do cause exponential increases in disease cases. Also, why do the cases of autism continue to skyrocket even after mercury has been taken out of vaccines, and even in children who were never vaccinated?

Statistics show a strong correlation (as defined mathematically with correlation coefficient) between the rising incidence of autism and the rising incidence of Lyme disease from 1992 to 2006. There is also a significant correlation (as defined mathematically with correlation coefficient) between the geographic distribution of autism and Lyme disease cases (See Figure 1 below). This data alone is enough to raise eyebrows. 

Of course, mere statistical correlation (as seen above in Figure 1) between the incidence and distribution of Lyme disease and autism is not enough to use as a foundation for causation. If you recall your college statistics class, correlation does not necessarily imply causation.

However, when the strong, but not necessarily conclusive, correlations between autism data and Lyme disease data are combined with other factors such as symptomology, epidemiology, family history, and other factors we explore in this book, a very strong argument can be built for the case that similarities between Lyme disease and autism move beyond the realm of correlation into the territory of causation. 

For these reasons, the Lyme-autism connection is gaining momentum and public awareness rapidly. Well respected researchers, physicians, and organizations are beginning to take a second look at what might be the biggest infectious disease discovery of the century.

We invite you to explore the shocking data with us.
Awaiting your discovery is the Lyme-Autism Connection.

Written, produced, and sold in collaboration with  The LIA Foundation	Now Available! Published July 1, 2008 THE LYME-AUTISM CONNECTION By Bryan Rosner With Tami Duncan Foreword by Robert Bransfield, M.D. Paperback Book, 287 Pages, $25.95
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