Anti-MAP therapy: treating the cause

[MarkB]

As an educated lay-person, I've been reading up on Crohn's and the MAP-Crohn's link for some time. Recently got back into the literature, and I find the evidence quite compelling. I recently added some MAP links to the Crohn's disease wiki on this forum (actually, in a long post in the comments to the main Crohn's wiki).

I just came across another GREAT resource. Go to youtube and search for the video titled "Crohn's Controversy: cause, vaccine, and Anti-MAP therapy." This is an outstanding video, full of useful references that would take one many hours to track down on the web.

MAP = Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis.

MAP causes of many cases of Crohn's, particularly in individuals who are genetically predisposed to IBDs and mycobacterial infection. The mainstream medical community doesn't yet accept this, but they're ignoring compelling evidence from the world's leading MAP-Crohn's researchers & physicians.

 

[MarkB]

One thing that I find sad about this deal is the utter lack of attention CCFA pays to the science on MAP & Crohn's. More later.

 

[MarkB]

Some notes on two papers from the medical literature on the topic of MAP & Crohn's:

MAP is associated with many, if not most cases of Crohn’s disease (1, 2). MAP is difficult to detect, but where proper methods have been used most people with Crohn’s Disease that have been tested for MAP have been found to be infected with MAP (1; see especially the section "MAP in humans" and references 35-39 therein).

Both papers referenced above are excellent resources. Dr. Hermon-Taylor has had much success in treating Crohn’s as a MAP infection, and is currently working on a MAP vaccine.

The Feller and others paper is a meta-analysis of 28 studies that analyzed for MAP in Crohn's patients and non-Crohn's controls (including some ulcerative colitis patients). 16 of 18 studies that used PCR found odds ratios > 1 (MAP more likely to be detected in CD patients than controls); overall odds ratio of 7 (7x more likely to detect MAP in Crohn's than non-Crohn's patients, and that average ratio includes the two studies w/ OR's < 1). ELISA-based studies (less sensitive method, average odds ratio is 1.72 (almost twice as likely to detect MAP in Crohn's versus non-Crohn's controls). This meta-analysis is a major piece of work. One cannot say it's simply a rogue finding or "something on the internet." This meta-analysis of 28 studies strongly concludes “The association of MAP and Crohn’s disease, based on PCR or ELISA testing, is well established...” This should not be ignored by the medical community (including your doctor) and CCFA. They do use cautious wording, because association does not equate to proof that it's a cause. But the evidence is certainly suggestive of a causative role, as discussed by the Hermon-Taylor paper (1).

References:
1. Hermon-Taylor, J. Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, Crohn's disease and the Doomsday scenario. Gut Pathog 2009, 1, (1), 1-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1757-4749-1-15.
2. Feller, M.; Huwiler, K.; Stephan, R.; Altpeter, E.; Shang, A.; Furrer, H.; Pfyffer, G. E.; Jemmi, T.; Baumgartner, A.; Egger, M. Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and Crohn's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases 2007, 7, (9), 607-613. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1473309907702116.

Direct links to pdfs of the above papers:
1. http://www.gutpathogens.com/content/pdf/1757-4749-1-15.pdf
2. ftp://s173-183-201-52.ab.hsia.telus.net/AgroMediaDocs/JDrefs/LID7_607.pdf

 

[MarkB]

Just noticed there's been a lively discussion on this topic over in another thread.

MAP Vaccine Ready for Human Trials - Could be Used for Crohn's
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=59071

and another thread:
Anyone from Deerfield, IL
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=73624

and another thread:
Dr. Borody's Dietzia clinical trial obtaining astonishing results
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=73868

 

[MarkB]

Couple great resources on Anti-MAP (aka AMAT):
That youtube vid I referenced earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CELZLY2X9c
Some relevant literature & notes: http://crohnsmapvaccine.com/pdfs/map-info-pack-low-res.pdf