Can “stealth bacteria” be responsible for some of the debilitating diseases we face today? Can these “stealth bacteria” have forms that can hide from standard antibiotic treatments? These questions were addressed in research done by Lida Mattman Ph.D.
Lida Mattman was nominated in 1998 for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. She did extensive studies on Lyme disease and on Cell Wall Deficient Bacteria also known as L-form bacteria. (Information from Wikipidia). She died in 2008.
I recently ran across an article on bacteria that included information from a controversial book published in 2001 by Lida Mattman, Ph.D. Cell Wall Deficient Forms: Stealth Pathogens. I found this information to be eye opening and I deemed it worthy as a blog topic. I will apologize in advance for writing about such a complex subject and reducing it to Blog format. I think that this topic has not been given enough press and am taking my small step with this blog to illuminate the topic. The book that Lida Mattman wrote offers a very non-traditional view of bacterial infections and how cell wall deficient bacteria are associated with chronic diseases.
Bacteria are typically described as having a cell wall. The standard view is that bacteria that lose their cell wall do not remain viable for long and do not reproduce. The immune system distinguishes and attacks bacteria upon recognizing the cell wall of the bacteria. It is difficult for the immune system to identify and attack bacteria without a cell wall.
The alternative view of cell wall deficient bacteria, as discussed by Lida Mattman in her book, Cell Wall Deficient Forms: Stealth Pathogens is that bacteria that lose their cell wall can take various shapes not just the L shape, stay viable for lengthy periods and reproduce readily in these shapes. Dr. Mattman’s position was that the Lyme bacteria ( Borrelia bugdorferi or Bb) can exist in its stealth form and while in that form, be difficult to detect in the body. In the stealth form, the bacteria are continuing to reproduce and are implicated in many degenerative diseases. Dr. Mattman’s research showed that a larger portion of the population has Lyme disease than generally accepted and that it is associated with “many other diseases than is commonly recognized including ADHD, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, Bell’s palsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), lupus, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, scleroderma and a host of additional diseases. (Source: Breakthroughs in Health & Medicine Online Newsletter “New Hope for Lyme Disease” August 2012.) Dr. Mattman detected the Lyme bacteria in all eight people with Parkinson’s, all 41 MS cases and all 21 ALS cases tested. The research question to be answered is if the Lyme (Bb spirochete) is a cause or if it is a contributing factor in these diseases. Additionally, Dr. Mattman’s research indicated that transmission in these cell wall deficient forms of Lyme could be via blood, saliva and insects other than tics.
Research discussed in an article from ScienceDaily backs up some of the conclusions reached by Dr. Mattman. This article discussed the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes which is responsible for serious food poisoning outbreaks. Professor Martn J. Loessner showed that an L-form of the pathogen could reproduce in milk, not be detectable while in the L-form and outwit the immune system. (ETH Zurich (2009, September 19). Listeria L-forms: Discovery Of an Unusual Form Of Bacterial Life. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 3, 2012, from http://ww.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090912145843.htm)
The article from Breakthroughs in Health and Medicine suggests using a protein inhibitor type of antibiotic for a cell wall deficient form of the bacteria. Alternative products to consider include using a TOA-Free Cat’s Claw product, the herb artemisinen, Sodium Chlorite, or an herbal preparation from Raintree Nutrition, Inc called Spiro™ for use in treating resistant Lyme disease. If interested, work with your health care practitioner in utilizing these preparations.
I am writing this blog from the information presented in the Breakthroughs in Health and Medicine article, the article from ScienceDaily and a reading of the opening pages of Dr. Mattman’s book. (I looked into purchasing this book but it is in the $200 range and is outside of my budget). Information is sparse on the internet on the topic of cell wall deficient bacteria but the concept may be very important if you are faced with a debilitating disease that is resistant to treatment.
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