Yearly Archives: 2019

Editorial: Businesses Should Look to End Discrimination

by TBR Staff - October 9, 2019

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rays-and-stark-bar-interior — Stock photo

If you ignore prejudice, you invite prejudice.

Stony Brook University officials recently hosted a forum in Port Jefferson to highlight how, despite efforts to stamp out prejudice in the local community, its specter constantly lingers in the background. The catalyst for the panel discussion was a recent incident, where a Sikh man was essentially barred from entering a restaurant because his religious garb was misunderstood.

Presenters praised the more than 40 people, mostly business owners, who attended the panel for being open-minded. Many walked away with new insights and goals in mind.

It makes little economic nor moral sense to restrict who can buy your products or shop because of a lingering prejudice, so we agree that all North Shore businesses should be looking for ways to become more inclusive.

Prejudice sits just under the skin of a community and surfaces regularly. Back in May, a gay couple were called “faggots” by a waiter as they left a restaurant in Smithtown. The restaurant wrote a long apology on its Facebook page, but not until after the news was carried far and wide. That incident not only looks bad on that one individual and the business where they are employed, but the stigma is transmitted to all surrounding businesses.

People can pretend that prejudice is contained as overt acts of aggression, yet the truth is less obvious. In reality, much of Long Island is dotted with areas of high wealth, situated alongside areas of upper and lower middle class. Consider Long Island school districts, which dictate their own boundaries. Segregation among school districts is such that the majority of Brentwood students, for example, are black and Hispanic, while a district like Three Village is comprised of more than 80 percent white students. To pretend that such overt segregation doesn’t lead to ignorance and prejudice is fooling oneself. The truth is that Long Island is regarded as one of the most segregated metropolitan regions in the country.

Restricting somebody from entering a restaurant is overt in its ignorance. It’s wrong for a whole host of reasons, and in the small relatively insular communities of the North Shore of Long Island, those ideas are hard to wrestle away.

But those ideas must be torn away, ripped up and be jammed deep to the bottom of the garbage bin.

Our local shops have a lot they can do to help. The Stony Brook University panel suggested businesses talk about hiring people to become more diverse. Simply putting a sign in a store window inviting people of all races, religions, creeds, sexual orientations and genders to shop can emphasize inclusivity.

Learn to recognize prejudice and then take a stand when you see it, especially if it’s within your own thoughts and actions. There are benefits to racial and cultural diversity. Let’s celebrate our differences.

D. None of the Above: A Little Appreciation Goes a Long Way

by Daniel Dunaief - October 9, 2019

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By Daniel Dunaief

I speak with a police officer near my son’s school regularly. She steps into four lanes of frantic morning commuting traffic to allow people to maneuver into and out of a school parking lot.

She offers a pleasant, “Good morning,” to people who roll down their windows or who walk past her. As she steps carefully into a heavily trafficked street, she makes eye contact with drivers.

She waves to the waiting parents to make their turns and rejoin the flow of traffic to work or to their next morning destination. She sends them off from school with a pleasant, “Have a great day,” as they drive around her.

Recently, I pulled up to the stop sign and saw the officer holding her stomach.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“I just can’t stop laughing,” she said. “I see the same crazies every day. I’m used to them. There’s this guy who drives a pickup truck and he cusses at me every time he passes. I’m not sure why.”

“Is that funny?” I asked.

“No, today, a woman looked right at me, clapped, gave me the thumbs up and raised her fist. She seemed so happy that I was here.”

“That’s great,” I said.

“Yeah, she made my day,” the officer said, again holding her stomach. “That was just
so funny.”

This police officer spends her day looking in car windows, hoping people stop instead of running her over or creating traffic hazards for children or their parents near schools. And yet, this driver made her happy by sharing an effusive and appreciative series of simple gestures.

The movements the woman made are the kinds of displays superstar athletes see every time they step on a sports field or tennis court. These expressions of appreciation, gratitude and admiration are so common that many of the players block out the sounds so they can focus on the game.

But for this officer, the show of support was a welcome sight.

A day before, a friend told me that he and his daughter pulled into a parking lot, where a parking attendant asked for $3. When he handed out the money, his daughter leaned across him and thanked the attendant.

The attendant smiled and directed them to a spot nearby.

“What are you thanking him for?” my friend asked. “What did he do?”

“He’s doing his job and I appreciate it,” his daughter said. “Why can’t you appreciate it?”

“He’s taking my money,” the friend reasoned.

“Yes, and you’re getting a place to park,” she said.

My friend recognized the value of the words. Besides, even if it didn’t make the attendant’s day, it didn’t cost anything and it may have helped the car park collector feel like someone cared that a good job was being done.

In that same vein, I’d like to thank you for reading this column today and any other time you take the time to read it. I know you could be doing numerous other tasks and I appreciate the opportunity to share words, thoughts or experiences with you.

I realize you don’t always agree with me. Maybe climate change isn’t top of your mind or you have perfect children who never once frustrate and amuse you, or your dog is so well trained that it never jumps up on anyone or consumes a plate full of warm cookies. But I appreciate the chance to connect with you.

Maybe today, tomorrow or next week, you can also pass along an appreciative gesture. Who knows? You might make the day of a police officer, a baker, a mail carrier or a dog walker.

Between You and Me: Talking to Strangers Can Be Revealing or Can Be Something Else

by Leah Dunaief - October 9, 2019

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

A book I recently finished and enjoyed has topped The New York Times Best Sellers Hardcover Nonfiction list, so clearly many others appreciate it as well. It is “Talking to Strangers,” Malcolm Gladwell’s latest offering.

Reading it, in some ways, is like a summary of controversial current events, with a lot of interesting yet extraneous information thrown in because that makes for a good story. And one thing about Gladwell: He is a good storyteller. The author of previous bestsellers including “The Tipping Point,” and “Blink,” Gladwell is said to turn social science into best selling books. One of the critics said that he could probably make a riveting story about a pencil sharpener.

Initially I picked up the book because of its title. I thought it could have been written for me because I habitually and notoriously talk to strangers. I say it that way because I’m not sure the people I am with always appreciate sharing me but I can’t help myself. When I am in a theater and it is intermission, I am interested in how the people around me like the show. When I am at the opera — where a surprising number of different languages are spoken by the audience — I wonder where the people next to me come from and I ask them. Sometimes I even begin chatting with others in an elevator in conversations of obviously limited duration.

Lest you think I am an insensitive pest, I rush to assure you that if those questioned by me would seem unwilling to talk, I would immediately become silent. But I find quite the contrary. Most people seem to enjoy talking to strangers who are sharing the same environment.

‘Talking to Strangers’ by Malcolm Gladwell

So I started reading but was surprised that Gladwell’s theme was quite different from what I was expecting. From his perspective, it is difficult to evaluate a person, especially in a provocative situation, simply by talking with them and reading their body language. Why? Sometimes people lie, and lie convincingly. An example he gives is Bernie Madoff, who with his quiet and thoughtful manner, was able to convince clever and talented financial experts that he was honest. For a time, even members of Renaissance Technologies in Setauket were caught off guard.

As Gladwell wrote, “Through a complicated set of arrangements Renaissance found itself with a stake in a fund run by [Madoff]” and “The people at Renaissance are brilliant … but couldn’t quite make the leap to believe that it was all a setup” despite personal interviews with Madoff. That is, until they became sufficiently suspicious to take out their money, but then only half that was invested with Madoff, according to Gladwell.

There are other examples in the book having to do with cultural or contextual differences between the viewer and the person being viewed, sometimes with disastrous results. One such situation involved Amanda Knox, an American student incarcerated for four years following the murder of her roommate in Perugia, Italy, largely because Italian prosecutors interpreted her youthful American goofiness as signs of guilt. She was subsequently acquitted of the murder.

Another example put forth by Gladwell is the unwillingness of witnesses to recognize the guilt of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant college football coach who abused children. Yet another example, the one that starts and ends the book, is of Sandra Bland, the African-American woman from Chicago who was stopped by a white highway patrolman in a small town in Texas for not signaling when she changed lanes. It should have been a routine event. Instead, because of misreading, it turned into a confrontation resulting in her death three days later by hanging in a local jail that was ruled a suicide. There are also fascinating stories about Cuban spies fooling the CIA, among other tales.

Gladwell’s conclusion is that we should “accept the limits of our ability to decipher strangers.” He goes on to say, “What is required of us is restraint and humility. … There are clues to making sense of a stranger. But attending to them requires care and attention.” And knowing that we can be wrong. Anyone who has hired the wrong applicant for a job can vouch for that.

Town of Huntington to host Organ Donation Enrollment Day Oct. 10

by Kyle Barr - October 9, 2019

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Huntington-Town-Hall_ABBASw — Town of Huntington will host a Organ Donor Enrollment Day Oct. 10. File photo by Rohma Abbas

Huntington council members Mark Cuthbertson and Joan Cergol are urging Huntington residents to register to be an organ donor as the town is hosting an Organ Donor Enrollment Day October 10. Residents can sign up at Town Hall or Huntington Hospital.

New York State ranks last in the country with only 35% of registered organ donors versus the average of 50% registered across the country.

A recent study showed that 92 percent of New Yorkers support organ and tissue donation, only 35 percent of New Yorkers are registered as organ donors. Every 18 hours, a New Yorker dies waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

That means that people can wait an average of 7 or more years to receive a lifesaving transplant. Meanwhile every 18 hours, a New Yorker dies on the waiting list. Now in its fifth year, Organ Donor Enrollment Day presents New Yorkers with a convenient opportunity to make their support known and to sign up as an organ and tissue donor. This year, Huntington Hospital is hosting Organ Donor Enrollment Day as a facet of its partnership with the LiveOnNY to facilitate tissue and organ transplants.

“I can tell you from personal experience that organ and tissue donation saves lives,” Cuthbertson said. “My son, Hunter, received a bone marrow transplant a few years ago and he is doing fine today. He was lucky, his donor was his brother. Only 25% of family members are a match, that leaves 75 percent of people needing transplants to rely on the kindness of strangers.”

Cergol also spoke on her experiences.

“A family friend’s son needed a heart transplant and I watched as he became weaker and weaker waiting for a heart, thankfully that call came and he received his transplant,” she said. “Not every New Yorker is as lucky as he was, we need to bring New York out of last place and save lives.”

Doing their part to help change the statistics, Cuthbertson and Cergol announced yesterday that preparations were underway for the 3rd annual 5k Run to Save Lives to be held on Sunday April 19, 2020 at Oldfield Middle School.

The run annually brings together competitive and recreational runners with transplant recipients, donor families and organizations promoting organ donation and highlighting the need for people to enroll as organ donors. More than 250 people participated in the 2019 race, which raised $16,000 for organ donation groups.

It’s not too early to sign up. People can register online at: https://events.elitefeats.com/april-2020-town-of-huntington-5k-to-save-lives

To sign up to be an organ donor, please go to www.liveonny.org

Compiled by David Luces

North Shore Residents Walk, Run to Help Cancer Patients

by Rita J. Egan - October 9, 2019

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On Oct. 6, hundreds attended the 26th annual Walk for Beauty in Stony Brook village. Each year The Ward Melville Heritage Organization hosts the event that raises money for a targeted research fund at Stony Brook Medicine for breast cancer research and The WMHO Unique Boutique for wigs.

The 10K Hercules on the Harbor run complemented the 4K/6K walk where participants make their way through scenic Stony Brook.

After the walk and run, a pet costume contest was held, attendees had the chance to win raffles, musicians were on hand to entertain and HeartBeet Farms and the Stony Brook Cancer Mobile Mammography van was on-site.

Women’s EXPO Kicks Off Holiday Season

by Heidi Sutton - October 9, 2019

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Middle Country Public Library in Centereach hosted the 19th annual Women’s EXPO on Oct. 3. Thousands came out to kick off their holiday shopping at the one-day event presented by the Middle Country Library Foundation and the library’s Miller Business Center.

More than 80 women entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to introduce their products, which included jewelry, children’s books, soaps, candles, chocolate, fall crafts, clothing and much more. Fifth Season restaurant offered lunch in the EXPO Café.

This year’s lead sponsor was Bank of America. The event was also sponsored by Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP of Ronkonkoma; People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union; BankUnited; TD Bank; Jefferson’s Ferry; and the Greater Middle Country Chamber of Commerce. Vendors interested in participating in next year’s event are encouraged to visit www.womensExpoli.org. See more photos of the event at www.tbrnewsmedia.com.

Photos by Heidi Sutton

Maasai Tribe Returns to Port Jeff

by David Luces - October 9, 2019

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Chief Joseph Ole Tipanko and members of the Kenyan Maasai tribe returned to their “home away from home” Oct. 6 when they led educational presentations to a room full of local residents at the Port Jefferson Village Center.

Patrons learned about the history, customs and lifestyle of the tribe who reside in Kenya and Tanzania.

“They are the oldest indengious African tribe still functioning in Africa today, much in the way they did from the beginning of time,” said Virginia Armstrong, a local resident who partners with the Maasai Good Salvage Outreach Organization.

The presentation was organized by Armstrong, a former Mount Sinai educator, and the Maasai Good Salvage Outreach Organization, which builds schools for needy and vulnerable children.

Over the years, Armstrong and the organization have raised donations to help the Maasai communities. In July 2018, the educator and the Mount Sinai School District helped shipped 140 small laptop computers to children in both Sri Lanka and to the Maasai tribe. In 2015, they donated clothing and sneakers as part of an Athletes Helping Athletes clothing drive. They also helped build a school for the villages wired with electricity.

Chief Joseph spoke about life in his tribe.

“The Maasai are tranquil, nomadic and an indigenous group of people,” he said. “We have still kept of our lifestyle and traditions despite many changes that are happening in the communities.”

Joseph said since he has become the chief of the tribe, he has worked to move away from old customs of arranged and early child marriages and female genital cutting. With help from the outreach organization and others they have been able to give young girls an alternative by providing them with an education.

“We have been campaigning in our villages to end [the practices],” he said.

Last year, 11 at-risk girls graduated from the tribe’s local high school. Some have qualified to go to university, while others will join technical colleges. Currently, 12 girls are being supported in high school and eight are being sponsored in elementary school. Hot lunches, school uniforms and books are also provided for 28 preschool kids.

Other highlights of the presentations were Chief Joseph and John Kilenyi Ole Parsitau performing native songs and dances. The duo also let three attendees try on traditional Maasai robes.

Margot Garant, Port Jeff mayor, presented Chief Joseph and members of the Maasai with official village pins.

Chief and I met six or seven years ago when he came to the village and it was love at first site,” she said. “We adopted the Maasai tribe as our sister village and we are committed to finishing the girls dormitory and a pump for your well.”

On hand, the tribe had articles of jewelry, crafts and clothing for attendees to buy. All funds collected will go toward the children’s education and water projects in the villages. Patrons were encouraged to sponsor a Maasai child’s education.

To find out more about the Maasai tribe, visit www.magsaoutreach.org. To find out more about the tribe’s ties to Suffolk County or to donate, visit www.leavingfootprints.org.

Pascual Aims to Unseat Longtime Town Receiver of Taxes

by David Luces - October 9, 2019

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“I want to be an advocate for the people,” said Dom Pascual, a Farmingville resident running for Town of Brookhaven receiver of taxes in the November elections. “I live in a blue-collar community that feels that they are not being represented.”

Pascual, who is running on the Democratic ticket, said an important issue for him is helping to keep young families on the Island.

“I want to keep them here, right now it’s not good — the cost of living is too high,” he said. “We need housing for working families — there’s no jobs on Long Island, taxes are too high.”

– Dom Pascual

Pascual is vying to secure a four-year term in the upcoming election against longtime town receiver of taxes, Louis Marcoccia (R). This will not be Pascual’s first time running for elected office. In 2017, he ran for the 4th district Suffolk County Legislature seat but ultimately lost to incumbent Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma).

“I’m fighting for change, we have had a receiver that has been around for a long time and hasn’t had an opponent in 12 years,” Pascual said.

If elected, the challenger said he would make his office more accessible and have more available hours to accommodate residents. He said he also wants to look into more tax relief programs for senior citizens, veterans and emergency response workers as well as getting more homeowners into the STAR program.

He also wants to make it possible for residents to see multiple years of tax bills when filing their taxes, host workshops aimed at explaining to residents where their taxes are going and helping them through the filing process.

“It’s about educating people on the resources that are available for them and letting them know we can do these things,” the Farmingville resident said.

Pascual, who was raised in Dix Hills, currently works as a bank compliance and financial crimes attorney. He graduated from Binghamton University and received his law degree from Vermont Law School. Previously, he has worked for JPMorgan Chase and for five years he worked as a New York City administrative law judge hearing Section 8 rent and fraud cases. Pascual is also a commissioned officer in the New York Army National Guard.

The challenger said his previous lines of work would help him in the new position, as he had experience reviewing budgets and has reviewed billions of dollars of transactions looking for indicators of corruption, criminal activity or other violations.

Other areas Pascual would like to address are developments approved in the town. In terms of planning and land use he would like the town and the Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency to scale back on giving tax breaks to developers.

“These tax breaks are not affordable,” he said. “Taxes and student loans are crippling young people [in the Town of Brookhaven].”

Pascual said the position, while tasked with the town’s budget and taxes, is connected to other facets of the government. He wants to be an honest broker for residents.

“I want to make sure we can help get more roads paved,” he said. “The town is already in debt. How are we going to pay those off? What’s going to happen when the landfill closes?”

Pascual reiterated that he believes it is time for change in Brookhaven.

“The establishment has been in the town for a long time — it’s time for new blood,” he said.

Medical Compass: Reducing inflammation with steroids

by David Dunaief - October 8, 2019

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steroids — Steroids can be helpful but in moderation. Stock photo

Studies suggest shorter duration treatments can be as effective, with fewer side effects

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Steroids typically make headlines related to their use as a performance-enhancing drug in sports. However, if we look beyond the flashy headlines, we see that corticosteroids, or steroids, play an important role in medicine.

Medical use

Steroids have an anti-inflammatory effect. This is critical since many acute and chronic diseases are based at least partially on inflammation. Chronic diseases that benefit include allergic, inflammatory and immunological diseases (1). These types of diseases touch on almost every area of the body, from osteoarthritis and autoimmune diseases to asthma, COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) and eye disorders.

Steroids are delivered orally, topically as creams, lotions and eye drops, or via injections, intravenous solutions and inhaled formulations. The most commonly known medication is prednisone, but there are many others, including prednisolone, methylprednisolone, cortisone, hydrocortisone and dexamethasone.

Their benefits can be tremendous, improving functionality and reducing pain or improving breathing. You could say they are lifesaving in some instances, and with rescue inhalers they may just be that.

The bad

However, there is a very big caveat: They come at a price. Steroids cause weight gain, increased glucose (sugars), high blood pressure, cardiovascular events, osteoporosis, change in mood (psychoses), cataracts, glaucoma, infection, peptic ulcers, Cushing’s syndrome, and the list goes on. These are among the reasons medical professionals recommend using the least amount for the shortest time.

The upshot

The good news is that a plant-based diet may have similar beneficial effects in chronic diseases as steroids without all the downsides. Let’s look at the evidence.

The role in pneumonia

Pneumonia is among the top-10 leading causes of death in the world (2). In a meta-analysis (a group of nine studies), there was no overall effect of corticosteroids in reducing the risk of mortality in community-acquired pneumonia (3). However, when the data was broken into subsets, the findings were different. In subset data of those who had severe pneumonia, there was a statistically significant 74 percent reduction in mortality. And when duration was the main focus in subgroup analysis, those who received prolonged use of steroids reduced their risk of mortality by half.

Unfortunately, with the benefit comes an increased risk of adverse events, and this meta-analysis was no exception. There was a greater than two-times increased risk of abnormally high glucose levels with prolonged use. Thus, when giving steroids, especially for a prolonged use, it may be wise to check glucose levels.

In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the gold standard of studies, results reinforced the beneficial effects of steroids on pneumonia. They showed that in those with both severe pneumonia and high inflammation, there was a two-thirds reduction in treatment failures when corticosteroids were added to the regimen (4). There were 120 patients involved in the study. They received antibiotics plus either methylprednisolone or placebo for five days.

Osteoarthritis: surprising results

As we know, osteoarthritis specifically of the knee is very common, and intra-articular (in the joint) injections directly into the knee are becoming routine treatment. A study compared injectable hyaluronic acid to injectable corticosteroid (5). The results showed that over three months, the corticosteroid was superior to hyaluronic acid in terms of reducing pain, 66 percent versus 43.8 percent, respectively.

Interestingly, over the longer term, 12 months, hyaluronic acid reduced the pain and maintained its effect significantly longer than the steroid, 33 percent versus a meager 8.2 percent, respectively. Study groups received five injections of either steroid or of hyaluronic acid directly to the knee over a five-week period. Thus, steroids may not always be the most effective choice when it comes to pain reduction. Hyaluronic acid may have caused this beneficial effect by reducing inflammation, protecting cartilage and preventing cell death, according to the authors.

COPD: Length may not matter

It is not unusual to treat COPD patients with oral steroids. But what is the proper duration? The treatment paradigm has been two weeks with 40 mg of corticosteroids daily. However, results in an RCT of 600 patients showed that five days with 40 mg of corticosteroid was equivalent to 14 days of the same dosage and frequency (6). The hope is that the shorter use of steroids will mean fewer side effects. We have come a long way; prior to 1999, eight weeks of steroids was a more commonplace approach to treating acute COPD exacerbations.

Dietary effect

One of the great things about steroids is that they reduce inflammation, and we know that the basis of greater than 80 percent of chronic disease is inflammation. A plant-based diet involving lots of vegetables and fruits and some grains may have a similar effect as steroids, but without the side effects. The effect may be to modify the immune system and reduce inflammation (7).

The bioactive substances from plants thought to be involved in this process are predominantly carotenoids and the flavonoids. Thus, those patients who respond even minimally to steroids are likely to respond to a plant-based diet in much the same beneficial way without the downsides of a significant number of side effects. Diet, unlike steroids, can be used for a long duration and a high intake, with a direct relationship to improving disease outcomes.

In conclusion, it is always better to treat with the lowest effective dose for the shortest effective period when it comes to steroids. The complications of these drugs are enumerable and must always be weighed against the benefits. Sometimes, other drugs may have more beneficial effects over the long term, such as hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis. A plant-based diet, with anti-inflammatory properties similar to steroids, may be a useful alternative for chronic disease or may be used alongside these drugs, possibly reducing their dosage and duration.

References:

(1) uptodate.com. (2) N Engl J Med. 1995;333(24):1618-1624. (3) PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e47926. (4) JAMA. 2015;313(7):677-686. (5) Open Access Rheum 2015;7:9-18. (6) JAMA. 2013;309(21):2223-2231. (7) Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2008 Dec;78(6):293-298.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

Ask the Vet: Lyme nephritis – A tragic consequence of disease

by Matthew Kearns - October 8, 2019

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By Matthew Kearns, DVM

We recently had a dog present to our clinic for weight loss and decreased appetite. Initially, the owners were suspicious that a change in diet was the culprit. However, as the situation progressed in a negative direction, the owners consented to blood work and it was discovered that the dog’s kidneys were functioning very poorly. Even after referring this patient to a specialty hospital, her condition worsened. She was dead within less than two weeks of a diagnosis of Lyme nephritis.

Nephritis is defined as inflammation of the kidneys. Lyme nephritis is an uncommon manifestation of the infection with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme arthritis, or swelling of the joints, is the most common manifestation of disease). What makes Lyme nephritis so dangerous is that it is not only the infection that triggers this condition but also the immune system’s response to the infection. It is the development of an antigen-antibody complex that triggers inflammation in the kidneys and, ultimately, the destruction of the organ.

Antigens are foreign proteins that trigger a response by the body’s immune system. Most antigens are viruses, bacteria, abnormal cells, etc. Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system in response to antigens. Antibodies identify and tag antigens which signal white blood cells to destroy these foreign invaders. Usually this process just clears the infection or destroys abnormal cells before they can become tumors or cancers. Sometimes the antigen and antibody combine to form a single unit called an antigen-antibody complex. These complexes circulate throughout the bloodstream until they lodge in the body’s tissue (in this case the kidney). Once the antigen-antibody complex deposits in tissues it triggers an inflammatory response that damages the tissue itself.

Lyme nephritis is especially dangerous because the inflammation secondary to these complexes continues even after the infection is cleared and leads to a condition called a protein losing nephropathy. A protein losing nephropathy leads to protein loss, as well as progressive destruction of the kidneys until they shut down completely (as with what happened to our patient). There is no such thing as kidney transplants in dogs at this time and dialysis is both expensive and limited as to which clinics can provide this service.

The best defense to this condition is to vaccinate against Lyme disease before an infection occurs. It is usually a series of two vaccines and then once annually. Remember that this vaccine is only effective if given annually so don’t skip.

In summary, if you live in an area where tick exposure is at higher risk, or you have found ticks on your dog (even if they’ve tested negative in the past), I would recommend a serious conversation about vaccinating your dog against Lyme disease.

Dr. Kearns practices veterinary medicine from his Port Jefferson office and is pictured with his son Matthew and his dog Jasmine. Have a question for the vet? Email it to [email protected] to see his answer in an upcoming column.

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