momintexas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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Just trying to share some good links on mycoplasma pneumonia. All of the sites provide a lot of information about it.
Immune Disruption
"Mycoplasmas can also disrupt the normal orchestration and organization of the host�s immune system. They can cause lymphocytes (white blood cells that bear the major responsibility of the immune system) to secrete inflammatory cytokines (proteins that facilitate cell-to-cell communication), which leads to swelling, inflammation and either stimulation or suppression of the immune system. "
"Mycoplasma are a group of microorganisms which are a cross between a virus and a bacteria. Together with Chlamydia and Rickettsia they make up a family of microorganisms known as Rickettsiae and Pararickettsiae. They are found everywhere, the hosts are usually rodents and the vectors are arthropods (insects with jointed legs) or airborne through dust. Rickettsial organisms have been found in ticks, lice, fleas, mites, meat, milk, stool and dust.
They are the smallest free living organisms. Like viruses, they are intracellular organisms but unlike viruses, they can reproduce outside cells. They lack a cell wall which makes them resistant to many antibiotics. They enter the body through skin, lungs or digestive system. They then spread through the bloodstream to infect vascular endothelium. They multiply within cells until numbers are so great that the cells burst. This then damages blood flow to multiple organs, hence the multitude of symptoms which may occur.
Research by Dr Cecile Jardin (a French surgeon now based in South Africa and specialising in the treatment of chronic fatigue) has shown that the most common symptoms of chronic mycoplasma type infections include:
Symptoms are caused by the release of 3 types of toxins into the blood:
1. Endocytokines that cause inflammation and pain. 2. Neurocytokines that produce neurological symptoms including the demyelinisation found in multiple sclerosis and psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety. 3. Allergens causing allergies.
Mycoplasma infections can be occult. That means they can be asymptomatic and lie dormant until another bacteria, virus, parasite, stress or toxin activates it and causes the symptomatic phase.
Often these chronic conditions improve dramatically and even completely recover once the infection is identified and appropriately treated. In my opinion, everyone with the above conditions should be screened for chronic mycoplasma infection."
"Acute mycoplasma infections can be diagnosed by seeing an elevation in mycoplasma antibodies in a blood test. However, chronic infections often require specialised DNA testing (polymerase chain reaction). Clues to a persistent mycoplasma infection include an elevation in inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein, low white cell count, unexplained elevation of liver enzymes, elevated thyroid antibodies (in 28%) an elevated ESR, elevated rheumatoid factor, elevated antinuclear antibody and an elevated IgM antibody."
"Autoimmune conditions associated with Mycoplasmas include arthritis, Fibromyalgia, myositis, thyroid dysfunction (Hashimoto�s or Grave�s Diseases), and adrenal dysfunction, signs and symptoms of Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Lyme,and Lou Gehrig�s Disease.
The Mycoplasma organism has the capacity to invade cells, tissues and blood, producing systemic infections in numerous organ systems. According to Dr. Nicholson, it can penetrate the central and peripheral nervous system. Because it has the ability to damage the immune system by invading the natural killer cells (NK cells) of the lymphocytes, it weakens them, reduces their numbers, and renders them susceptible to viral infections, such as Human Herpes Virus 6 (HHV6), HHV7 or HHV8. It may also explain some of the environmentally sensitive responses that are seen with CFIDS and MCS.
Mycoplasma infection can trigger inflammatory cytokine over-production that is commonly seen in CFS/FMS. With the induction of CD-4+ helper cells of the immune system, an over production of cytokines such as Interleukin-1, Interleukin-6 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha occurs. These elevated cytokines have been implicated in the development of many of the CFS/FMS symptoms, including neurological involvement. They can have specific or nonspecific stimulatory or suppressive effects on lymphocytes, as measured by B and T cell activation.
In addition, the Mycoplasma infection has immune-modulating effects, activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. This can cause a cascade of limbic system symptoms characteristic of CFS/FMS."
"Due to the lack of a cell wall, all mycoplasmas are innately resistant to all beta-lactams and glycopeptides. Sulfonamides, trimethoprim, polymixins, nalidixic acid, and rifampin are also inactive. Linezolid is the prototype agent of the oxazolidinone class. These agents are much less active against M. pneumoniae than the other agents that inhibit protein synthesis (224). New quinolones such as moxifloxacin, gatifloxacin, garenoxacin, gemifloxacin, and sparfloxacin tend to have somewhat greater in vitro activity than older agents such as ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin, although MICs of all fluoroquinolones are severalfold higher than those of macrolides (224, 435-437). Fluoroquinolones have been shown to be bactericidal for M. pneumoniae, whereas macrolides and tetracyclines are primarily bacteriostatic"
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