A vaccine against Lyme disease?
Article Abstract:
Researchers are currently developing a vaccine against Lyme disease for humans. Lyme disease is a common bacterial infection transmitted through a tick. The proposed vaccine against Lyme disease has been proven effective in both hamsters and dogs and is currently being evaluated for effectiveness and safety in humans. There is a time delay of up to two days before the bacteria moves from the tick into the person or animal. The vaccine may then act by both attacking the bacteria inside the tick before it enters the body and also by building up immunity to defend the body against any bacteria that do enter. The bacterial strains that cause Lyme disease are more complex in Europe than in the United States. Therefore, any proposed vaccine should give immunity to variable strains of these bacteria. Some people tested with the vaccine have reported soreness at the injection site.
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 1995
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Magnetic healing, quackery, and the debate about the health effects of electromagnetic fields
Article Abstract:
There is still no consensus on the health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) despite 2,000 years of study and debate. In the middle ages, magnets were thought to cure melancholy and disorders such as gout. Animal magnetism became very popular in the mid-1700s and was thought to be a force like gravity that could influence physiological processes. An American device called a magnetic tractor claimed to use animal magnetism to stop pain. Magnetic salves and rings could be bought from the Sears Roebuck catalog and traveling magnetic healers, and interest in electrotherapeutics continued into the early twentieth century. A few studies in the 1970s and 1980s suggested a connection between EMF exposure and leukemia, which has rekindled interest in EMFs. The history of quackery associated with EMFs, however, threatens legitimate scientific inquiry in this field.
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 1993
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