HISTORY OF THE DISEASE
Lyme disease was first recognized in the United States in 1975, following a mysterious outbreak of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis near the community of Lyme, Connecticut. The rural location of the Lyme outbreak and the onset of illness during summer and early fall suggested that the transmission of the disease was by an arthropod vector. In 1982, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease was discovered by Willy Burgdorfer. Burgdorfer isolated spirochetes belonging to the genus Borrelia from the mid-guts of Ixodes ticks. He showed that these spirochetes reacted with immune serum from patients that had been diagnosed with Lyme disease. Consequently, the lyme spirochete resembling the syphilis spirochete was given the name Borrelia burgdorferi.

PREVALENT ON 6 CONTINENTS
Lyme disease, known as Lyme Borreliosis in much of the world, is prevalent on 6 continents and recognized as an epidemic in many countries. Uncaria Tomentosa TOA-Free has been available to the public in Bulgaria, where a high incidence of Lyme disease exists, since January 2001. Within 2 months it became the most widely sold natural medicine in that country. Dr. Atanas Tzonkov, director of Bulgaria’s largest private medical clinic, has treated thousands of patients with Uncaria Tomentosa TOA-Free. He reports that it has been used successfully to treat over 100 conditions. A possible theory is that most of these conditions were actually misdiagnosed Lyme disease or Lyme disease was a component of the illnesses that the patient was suffering from.

METHODS OF TRANSMISSION
W.T. Harvey, MD, MS, MPH and Patricia Salvato, MD of Diversified Medical Practices in Houston, Texas recently published the article- Lyme disease: Ancient Engine of an Unrecognized Borreliosis Pandemic. They were puzzled by the high number of patients testing positive for Lyme disease. Many of these patients presented with “established” criteria for Lyme disease, but others did not. The fact that southeastern Texas is a ‘non-endemic’ region, and that many of the patients had no history of erythema migrans rash, led the doctors to question established methods for Lyme disease consideration. Careful reflection of published research leads them to conclude the following. First, the arthropod is not the exclusive vector of Lyme disease. In addition to ticks, Borrelia burgdorferi may be carried and transmitted by fleas, mosquitos, and mites. Second, Lyme disease is not exclusively vector-borne. Compelling evidence supports horizontal (sexual) and vertical (congenital) human to human transfer. Other front-line physicians are arriving at the same conclusions. “Of the more than 5,000 children I’ve treated, 240 have been born with the disease,” says Charles Ray Jones, MD. Dr. Jones, who is the world’s leading pediatric specialist on Lyme Disease, says that about 90% of his practice is

comprised of patients with the disease. He also states, “Twelve children who’ve been breast-fed have subsequently developed Lyme”. University of Wisconsin researchers state that dairy cattle and other food animals can be infected with B. burgdorferi and hence some raw foods of animal origin might be contaminated with the pathogen. Recent findings indicate that the pathogen may be transmitted orally to laboratory animals, without an arthropod vector. Thus, the possibility exists that Lyme disease can be a food infection. Citing limitations of laboratory tests for the detection of antibodies to Borrelia, a study was conducted in 1995 at the University of Vienna (Austria) for the detection of Borrelia. Utilizing polymerase chain reaction testing for DNA, Borrelia was found to be present in both the urine and breast milk of patients previously diagnosed with Lyme disease. A study conducted at the Sacramento (California) Medical Foundation Blood Center in 1989 states that there is evidence that the transmission of Borrelia is possible by blood transfusion. Furthermore, in 1990, a study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia stated that the data demonstrates that Borrelia burgdorferi can survive the blood processing procedures normally applied to transfused blood in the USA.

DORMANCY AND ACTIVATION
It is believed that years can pass before symptoms appear in a patient that has been infected with Borrelia. In 1998, a study conducted in Switzerland demonstrated that only 12.5% of the patients that tested positive for Borrelia developed clinical symptoms confirming that Borrelia burgdorferi infection is often asymptomatic. A report from Germany outlines the case of a 12 year old boy that developed Lyme Arthritis 5 years after being bit by a tick. The case indicates that the latency period between tick bite and onset of Lyme Arthritis may last up to 5 years. All asymptomatic carriers of Borrelia are at risk of developing Lyme disease at some point. Stress, an increasing health concern for physicians worldwide, may have been the trigger that activated Lyme disease in a patient in Sweden. The case is reported of a 26 year old woman with latent Lyme borreliosis that was concurrently activated with a herpes simplex virus type 1 infection. Immune suppression by stress may have caused activation of both infections.

NUMBER OF CASES
Lyme disease is the fastest-growing epidemic in the world. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. affirms that “there is considerable underreporting” of Lyme disease, maintaining that the actual infection rate may be 1.8 million, 10 times higher than the 180,000 cases currently reported. Nick Harris, Ph.D., Director of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), states “Lyme is grossly under-reported. In the U.S., we probably have about 200,000 cases per year.” Dan Kinderleher, MD an expert on Lyme disease, stated on the Today Show on June 10, 2002 that the number of cases may be 100 times higher (18 million in the United States alone) than reported by the CDC. Jo Anne Whitaker, MD has developed a “Rapid Identification of Borrelia burgdorferi” and has over 3200 positive specimens for Borrelia burgdorferi from forty-six (46) states, including Alaska and Hawaii. In addition, Dr. Whitaker has had positive specimens from Australia, Canada, Canary Islands, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Considering vector, congenital and sexual transfer, Dr. Harvey and Dr. Salvato estimate that 15.5% of the global population, nearly 1 billion people, could be infected with Borrelia. Lee Cowden, MD states that there are very few symptoms where one should not consider Lyme, especially given that a quarter of the U.S. population may be affected. It is estimated that Lyme disease may be a contributing factor in more than 50% of chronically ill people. The Sierra Integrative Medicine Clinic in Reno, Nevada, states that “Authorities estimate that up to 90 percent of the population could be carrying the Lyme spirochete and that Lyme is a factor in over 50 percent of chronic illnesses.”

HOW UNCARIA TOMENTOSA TOA-FREE
MAY ELIMINATE THE PATHOGEN
The latest research on Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) shows that it exists in at least three different forms: the spirochete, the spheroplast (also known as L-form), and the cyst form. During the course of infection, Bb can shift among these three forms, converting from the spirochete form to the others when presented with an unfavorable environment (antibiotics, changes in pH of body fluids in chronic inflammation, etc.), and reverting back to the spirochete form to grow and reproduce upon being released from naturally aging and dying infected cells. It is during the growth period after re-conversion to the spirochete form, as well as in adult spirochete form, that Bb is most vulnerable and susceptible to antibiotics and natural elimination by the body’s immune system. The severity of Lyme presentation is directly related to the spirochete load: low load results in mild or even asymptomatic infections. With increased spirochete load from subsequent repeated infections and/or reactivated dormant infections, the severity of the disease increases. Higher loads also impair key cells of the immune system and modify the immune response, thus making the immune system unable to fight the pathogen. The negative effects on the immune system increase the longer the spirochetes are present. To prevail in the effort to fight Lyme disease, it is necessary to not only restore the immune system to normal functioning, but to boost it as well. Even a normal functioning immune system is unable to attack and eliminate Bb in all its forms. The results of research on Uncaria Tomentosa (TOA-Free Chemotype) demonstrate its powerful immune system modulating and stimulating properties, along with pronounced anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-infectious effects. The diverse spectrum of the biological activities of Uncaria Tomentosa TOA-Free is due to its biologically active compounds. The pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids (POAs) contained in this Chemotype are generally accepted as the principal immunomodulating and immunostimulating agents. POAs are actively involved in the repair of many elements and functional mechanisms of both the innate and acquired immunity damaged by the Borrelia and other co-infections, assisting in restoration of structural and functional integrity of the immune system, enhancing its ability to eliminate the pathogens by natural way. In addition, this Chemotype contains quinovic acid glycosides – compounds with strong natural antibiotic properties (the latest generations of conventional synthetic antibiotics “Quinolones” are based on quinovic acid glycosides), which further enhance the medicinal effect of Uncaria Tomentosa TOA-Free in fighting the infection. Considering the life-time of intracellular forms of Bb equivalent to the life-span of the cells invaded by these forms, they are constantly released into surrounding environment upon the natural cell death and destruction. The release of intracellular forms of Bb is gradual over the time due to various life-span of various invaded cells. Since about 90% of these forms reside in various cells (including all blood cells) which have the life-span from 2-3 weeks to 6-8 months, it may be assumed that within a 6 to 8 month period, a significant majority of all intracellular form of Bb will be released into the environment where they can be successfully attacked by a properly functioning immune system and a natural powerful antibiotics. Taking into account all the above, it can be assumed that continuous use of Uncaria Tomentosa TOA-Free over a period of time consistent with the lifespan of several generations of various infected cells (8-12 months), would more likely result in gradual killing and eliminating of Borrelia and co-existing infectious pathogens, with subsequent reduction of infectious load in the body and restoration of the person’s health.