Lyme disease film asks: Are doctors doing enough?

Millerton — The Millerton Moviehouse, as part off its ongoing FilmWorks Forum series, opened its doors last Saturday to a documentary film on Lyme disease in an effort to foster debate on chronic Lyme disease and its treatment.

“Under Our Skin� is an award-winning but somewhat controversial film by director, producer and cinematographer Andy Abrahams Wilson. Wilson produced the film after his sister contracted Lyme disease.

The film was short-listed as one of 15 finalists in the Documentary Feature category of the 2010 Academy Awards, although it ultimately failed to garner a nomination. The controversy comes in the film’s suggestion that some medical professionals are ignoring evidence of chronic Lyme disease under pressure from insurance companies that don’t want to pay for the treatment.

Last Sunday’s screening was co-sponsored by the Sharon Woman’s Club and featured a question-and-answer session following the film with Wilson. The event was also attended by several people who were featured in the documentary, including Elise Brady, a mother who contracted Lyme, and Dr. Kenneth Liegner, who has a home in Millerton.

Lyme disease, caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia, is commonly known to spread through deer ticks. The disease’s name comes from Lyme, Conn., a village that had a number of cases in 1975.

Early symptoms of Lyme disease may include fever, headache, fatigue, depression and a tell-tale “bulls-eye� skin rash. However, not all symptoms manifest themselves in patients with Lyme, and the disease can be difficult to confirm without the bulls-eye rash.

In a majority of cases, the infection and symptoms can be eliminated with antibiotics if treated immediately, but if a patient with Lyme disease is undiagnosed or is inadequately treated, more severe and chronic symptoms can develop, involving damage to the joints, heart and central nervous system, including arthritis, peripheral neuropathy and encephalomyelitis.

Subjects in “Under Our Skin� displayed extreme symptoms that they believe resulted from chronic Lyme disease. Within the scientific community, debate continues about whether the Borrelia bacteria is involved in the symptoms classified under chronic Lyme disease. The appropriate method of treatment for patients suffering from those symptoms is also disputed.

“Under Our Skin� showed patients who attributed the improvement of their symptoms to long-term antibiotic treatment at the recommendation of “Lyme-literate� doctors, some of whom have been or are currently entangled in legal battles over their approach to Lyme disease treatment.

The film also suggested that doctors have become involved in morally questionable relationships with insurance companies, which have influenced the official stance of groups such as the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Insurance companies then use those organizations’ official stances to deny coverage of treatment.

National opinion on chronic Lyme disease remains divided, but those in attendance at the two screenings of the film at the Moviehouse were overwhelming in favor of the film’s conclusions.

“I’m not a medical professional,� Wilson stressed during the question-and-answer session, “but I think I know more about this now than many medical professionals.�

Wilson pointed out that there were many facets of the controversy surrounding the Lyme disease debate that had to be left on the cutting room floor.

“This is a film, and to get people interested, it has to act like a film,� Wilson said. “The most important thing we tried to do was shock and awe on a visceral level.�

Based on the audience’s reaction following the film’s screening, “Under Our Skin� will continue the fight to bring the issues concerning chronic Lyme disease to the public eye. When Wilson mentioned that the film had been rejected for viewing on PBS for failing to meeting the station’s journalistic standards, including concerns regarding some of the organizations that had funded the making of the film, members of the audiences booed, and one shouted out that she would be boycotting the station in the future.

Film screenings under the FilmWorks Forum are open to the public and free of charge. The next film in the series, “Fresh,� is a documentary about the sustainable foods movement. It will be shown on Sunday, April 18.