Kat:
I am trying to show, with my Klebsiella lab report, that there is a connection between Ankylosing Spondylitis and Klebsiella. I am HLA-B27 positive and I have a problem with Klebsiella. Prior to this lab analysis of my saliva, I had been on three different antibiotics for approximately 14 months. The association between A.S. and Klebsiella is a fact and is being ignored by a majority of the medical professionals who treat A.S.
“On the other hand, the fact that not everyone who goes NSD has the same results would indicate that not everyone's case of AS is caused by kleb.”
In the United States up until the 60’s, the Ankylosing Spondylitis as we know it today was called Rheumatoid Spondylitis. A.S. was though to be a variant of Rheumatoid Arthritis(R.A.). It was not until a publication in Rome (1961) and then one in New York (1966) that concensus was achieved and A.S. recognized as a distinct entity, quite separate from R.A. I think that there will be more splits in several existing so called auto immune diseases yet to come. The majority of individuals with A.S. are HLA-B27 positive(This is what I meant by,” if you truly have A.S.”). If you don’t respond to the no starch diet or current medications for A.S. or you are not HLA-B27 positive, then maybe you do not have A.S. Maybe you have an autoimmune disease that has yet to be named much less discovered.
“I have asked several world experts about this and their responses varied: from complete disagreement to while it may have some bearing in some patients, it is not a proved theory to this point that all people with AS live with an over abundance of KP bacteria.”
It is not an overabundance of KP that causes A.S. but the mechanism called Molecular Mimicry. This is the point that Overcomer just made. The theory of molecular mimicry, also called epitopic or antigenic mimicry was discovered in 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia by an American micro-biologist. This theory has been known for over forty-three years! This theory was put into practice while treating patients with Rheumatic Fever. As you may or may not know, Rheumatic Fever was caused by having a homology with a bacteria called Group A Streptococcus (GAS). In certain individuals, a homology existed between certain HLA antigens and GAS and heart tissue. So the immune systems of Rheumatic Fever patients started to attack their own hearts. These patients with Rheumatic Fever were given penicillin. When was the last time you ever heard of anyone with Rheumatic Fever in a developed country? A.S. is by far and away NOT the only disease being proposed by the theory of Molecular Mimicry. If you go to a medical library and look up molecular mimicry, you see a whole host of human diseases besides A.S. that are thought to be caused by the mechanism called Molecular Mimicry. These include; Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), Rheumatoid Arthritis.
“This theory, while bearing weight in some cases of AS, does not hold true in all. Dr. Enbringer's results have not been repeated in testing done outside of his pervue to the extent that he was able to achieve them.”
Dragonslayer is correct in saying that 17 countries have reported Klebsiella in A.S. patients. Some of the countries reporting Klebsiella are; England, Spain, the Netherlands, Japan and the U.S. as well as others. Please see the following link to a paper (1998) describing antibodies to Klebsiella P. in Dutch patients. (Journal Rheumatol 1998:25:743-7) This study was done eight years ago.
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/2150/dutchkp9qo.jpgSincerely,
Mike
