BY JOE ROSSITER * FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER * August 19, 2008
Lida Mattman, a professor of microbiology at Wayne State University for more than three decades, whose contributions as a researcher and author earned her a spot in the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, died Aug. 6 at the Golden Years Retreat in Essexville.
The cause of death was a form of liver failure. She was 96.
Mrs. Mattman was recognized for her work with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Lou Gehrig's disease, scleroderma and Parkinson's. Her book, "Cell Wall Deficient Forms," written in 1974, was regarded as an invaluable education tool among researchers, students and physicians in the field of microbiology.
"Like the ripple effect upon the water, the influence of a great teacher never ceases, and that basically defines the type of positive effect she had upon me and countless other students," said James Gray, a former pupil and current microbiology professor at Wayne County Community College. "If you were willing to be there she would work with you in the lab all night long as an adviser."
Born Lida Holmes in Denver, she earned bachelor's and master's degrees in microbiology and virology respectively from the University of Kansas and a doctorate in immunology from Yale University in 1940.
In addition to doing research at the universities of Iowa and Pennsylvania, she served as director of clinical laboratories for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Commission and was an instructor at the Harvard School of Public Health.
After she married Dr. Paul E. Mattman in 1944, the couple moved to Detroit.
Mrs. Mattman joined the Wayne State faculty in 1949 and is credited with ushering thousands of would-be doctors and nurses into the medical profession. She was awarded the university's President's Award for Outstanding Teaching and Research in 1977. She retired in 1982, and was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2005.
Survivors include a daughter, Sandra Augustine; a son, Dr. Paul H. Mattman, and five grandchildren.
A memorial service is set for 1 p.m. Aug. 31 in the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, 16 Lakeshore Drive, Grosse Pointe.
This is to bad Condolances. She was a very smart woman Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
NEWS ARTICLE from TICK TALK - May/June 1997, by Kim Weber
Researcher Reveals Possible Lyme & Multiple Sclerosis Connection
Known for her work in pathology and her extensive research in cell wall deficient bacteria, Lida H. Mattman, Ph.D., is rocking the medical community with her discoveries in Lyme disease and Multiple Sclerosis. On May 6th [1997] in Saginaw, Michigan, Mattman spoke to Lyme patients and medical professionals who were captivated by her slides and research findings on spirochetes.
Behind her self-deprecating humor is a dedicated researcher and pioneer in her field. Mattman, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Biology, at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) is also a mother motivated by a daughter who was diagnosed with Lyme Disease (LD) a few years ago.
Since then, Mattman has focused her attention on how to find a more reliable and reproducible way of finding the infection -- in culturing the spirochete from blood samples. In the last year, she has found such a method; and in the process, has also identified another spirochete that could be the causative agent in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
When asked at the meeting if MS is a spirochetal disease like LD, Mattman replied with an unequivocal "yes". She went on to show slides of the various diseases caused by different spirochetes - including MS. Each disease was characterized by a variety of disfiguring and debilitating symptoms - all of which, Mattman pointed out, were treatable with appropriate antibiotics. Dr. Mattman's new method of culturing the spirochete was featured at this year's 10th Annual International Conference at the NIH in Bethesda, MD. Viewed as one of the most important discoveries presented at the Poster Session, Mattman's technique may be a new Gold Standard for determining spirochetal infections and persistent disease.
Although her findings are compelling, Mattman feels she is up against skepticism in the medical community. Mattman feels this harkens back to other big breakthroughs, such as developing the vaccine for Whooping Cough and discovering the H. Pylori bacteria in ulcers. Because these discoveries challenged previous medical doctrine, the doctors were originally shunned for breaking away from "accepted facts".
Mattman is confident that it is only a matter of time before her research will be given credibility. In explaining why current testing for Lyme disease is unreliable, Mattman referred to the blood test using immuno-fluorescence assay (IFA). Here, she explains, the lab is looking for the antibody. It won't always be detected, because the spirochete can "masquerade" in other forms that delude the immune response.
Mattman explained that the spirochete, like other bacteria, is not always in its classic form - there is much diversity in its appearance. This "diversity" in appearance is what is known as the "L Form" of the bacteria (named after this research at Lister Institute). In learning to recognize the "L Form" bacteria, Mattman has been able to culture spirochetes abundantly and profusely.
For now, Dr. Mattman hopes the doctors will use a more reliable test other than IFA. She suggests using the POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) test. This test picks up on the actual DNA of the spirochete. Mattman's lab has also worked for the University of Michigan, where she came face to face with L-forms of Meningitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). She emphasized that these also can be easily missed in the lab, because they are not always in the classic form with a "suit and bow tie".
Pointing to the screen, Mattman announced that we were the first audience to see a remarkable photo of Multiple Sclerosis spinal fluid mixed with red blood cells. The red blood cells on the screen were filled with many spirochetes that were also seen emerging from the red blood cells...
The spirochetes weren't only in the red blood cells, they PREFER the red blood cells. With this observation, Mattman feels that persistent infection could be attributed to the fact that antibiotics do not easily penetrate the red blood cell to target the spirochete.
Now that Dr. Mattman has been able to culture the spirochete, she is focusing on specific treatment. In recognizing that the spirochete can have numerous strains, she hopes to use cultured spirochetes for antibiotic sensitivity testing.
This is already widely used for other bacterial infections. With this procedure, Mattman could find which antibiotic would work best for the individual patient. From a clinical perspective, this knowledge would give the treating physician an important edge in prescribing an appropriate antibiotic.
Mattman concluded that Lyme disease is as endemic here as Malaria is in the Tropics. She is convinced that, with the introduction of more reliable testing for LD, the figures will more accurately reflect the prevalence."
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
HATS OFF TO LIDA for all her contributions to the lyme community and all other diseases she fought to learn and educate the scientific community about!
96 ... may you rest in peace Lida! i've heard of you since i joined this board.
thank you for all you gave us ... HOPE/answers!
melanie, thx for posting!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
She was awesome! What a loss for the world.
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
I'm deeply appreciative of her work. She has moved us forward in this process to find solutions to multiple diseases.
Posted by Neil M Martin (Member # 2357) on :
Thanks, Melanie
Dr. H who diagnosed & treated my Lyme disease was one of her Wayne State students.
Posted by stella marie (Member # 7216) on :
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
i've heard of you since i joined this board.