HoldsUp

Richard Horowitz

Richard Horowitz is a physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease, tick-borne coinfections, and chronic illness. His published research primarily focuses on treatment protocols for chronic Lyme disease and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, particularly evaluated through dapsone combination therapy regimens and the Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome (MSIDS) model. Additionally, his work includes studies on diagnostic assays for babesiosis and clinical reports on therapies for COVID-19.

47 claims checked on air: 5 context 1 contradicted 8 overstated 19 supported 14 unverified

What they said on air - overstated

6 citing their own research

0:09:45overstatedmoderateUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

The clinical hallmark of Lyme disease is migratory pain affecting joints, muscles, and nerves.

"Lyme patients have migratory joint pain, migratory muscle pain, and migratory nerve pain: tingling, numbness, burning, stabbing, vibration. The hallmark of Lyme is migratory pain." (said at 0:09:45)

While early disseminated Lyme borreliosis can cause transient migratory musculoskeletal symptoms (such as migratory arthralgias and myalgias) and neuroborreliosis can produce radicular neuropathic pain, asserting that 'migratory pain' across joints, muscles, and nerves is the defining hallmark of Lyme disease is overstated. Clinically, the primary pathognomonic hallmark of early Lyme disease is the erythema migrans skin lesion. When musculoskeletal manifestations develop later in the disease, they classically manifest as intermittent or persistent mono- or oligoarthritis predominantly involving large joints (most commonly the knee), rather than generalized migratory polyarticular pain.

0:17:53overstatedlowUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

Lyme infection induces molecular mimicry via flagella, causing autoantibodies against dopamine receptors, thyroid tissue, cardiolipin, and myelin.

"The Lyme is causing anti-dopaminergic antibodies, anti-thyroid antibodies, anti-cardiolipin antibodies, anti-myelin antibodies. It's causing this auto—so people come in with these autoimmune illnesses, but it's Lyme causing molecular mimicry. Your immune system is attacking the bug, right, the flagella, and it's causing these autoantibodies." (said at 0:17:53)

While research has demonstrated that immune responses to Borrelia burgdorferi flagellin can cross-react with human axonal proteins (such as heat shock protein 60, HSP60) in in vitro and preclinical models, the claim that flagellar molecular mimicry causes a broad array of specific autoantibodies—including anti-dopaminergic, anti-thyroid, anti-cardiolipin, and anti-myelin antibodies—significantly overstates the evidence. Some anti-neuronal antibodies (such as anti-D1 dopamine receptor antibodies) have been preliminarily observed in small subsets of patients with recurrent Lyme disease, but a causative mechanism linking flagella-targeted molecular mimicry to these diverse autoimmune targets in clinical disease is unestablished.

0:31:55overstatedlowUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

A randomized controlled trial demonstrated that a ketogenic diet can reverse bipolar I disorder, schizophrenia, and psychosis.

"There was a trial published uh I think the other day on ketogenic diets. It was a randomized controlled trial for bipolar I and schizophrenia and psychosis showing reversal." (said at 0:31:55)

A randomized controlled trial evaluated an adjunctive ketogenic diet in outpatients with schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar I disorders (n = 58; 1-month randomized phase vs. diet-as-usual, followed by an optional 4-month extension). The trial found statistically significant improvements in metabolic parameters (such as weight, HbA1c, and insulin resistance), cognitive performance, and psychiatric symptom scores (including depression and positive/negative symptoms). However, the study demonstrated modest-to-moderate symptom reduction and feasibility, not disease "reversal" or cure.

0:34:45overstatedvery lowtheir own paperUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

Dapsone exhibits antimalarial activity and is effective against approximately 25% of Babesia cases.

"It has antimalarial properties; it hits, not great, but about 25% of the Babesia cases." (said at 0:34:45)

While dapsone has established antimalarial activity (historically used in antifolate combination therapies such as Lapdap and Maloprim), no clinical trials or published evidence establish that dapsone monotherapy or protocols achieve efficacy in approximately 25% of Babesia cases. Standard first-line treatments for human babesiosis remain atovaquone plus azithromycin or clindamycin plus quinine; in observational reports of dapsone combination regimens used for chronic tick-borne illness, Babesia coinfections typically require separate antimalarial regimens.

0:35:15overstatedvery lowtheir own paperUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

A 9-week dapsone antibiotic protocol induces remission in approximately half of patients with chronic Lyme disease who do not have active Babesia, Bartonella, or mold illness.

"if you have Lyme without active Babesia, Bartonella, without mold, this protocol will put about half of the people in remission from nine weeks of antibiotics." (said at 0:35:15)

Published retrospective chart reviews from the clinician's practice report similar figures: in a retrospective series of 40 patients treated with 7–8 weeks of double-dose dapsone combination therapy (DDDCT), 45% (18/40) remained in remission for 1 year or longer. In a subsequent review of 25 patients receiving 8 weeks of DDDCT followed by a 5–7 day high-dose pulse (~9 weeks total), 30.5% (7/23 evaluable) achieved remission at 3–9 months and 13% (3/23) at 1.5 months (~43.5% total). However, presenting these findings as a definitive clinical rule ("will put about half of the people in remission") overstates the evidence, which consists entirely of small, unblinded, uncontrolled retrospective chart reviews and case series from a single practice without randomized controls.

0:50:20overstatedlowUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and dysautonomia occur in 40% to 50% of chronic Lyme and tick-borne disease patients.

"and dysautonomia shows up in 40 to 50% of our patients at this point." (said at 0:50:20)

While subjective autonomic symptoms and certain hemodynamic abnormalities (such as orthostatic hypotension) are frequently reported in post-treatment and late-stage Lyme disease, the claim that postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) specifically occurs in 40% to 50% of patients overstates published objective findings. A study of 210 patients with post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD) found that while autonomic symptom scores (COMPASS-31) were elevated, objective orthostatic tachycardia on a 10-minute active stand test was present in only 4.29% (9 of 210) of patients, a rate not significantly different from healthy controls. Other specialized cohort studies of late-stage Lyme disease have found orthostatic hypotension in 53.4% of patients during head-up tilt testing, but reviews note that formal dysautonomia remains an under-characterized complication in the broader Lyme literature.

0:55:30overstatedvery lowUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

Mycotoxins are detectable in 70% to 80% of fibromyalgia patients.

"Fibromyalgia. I didn't learn in medical school that mycotoxins are showing up in 70 to 80% of fibromyalgia patients." (said at 0:55:30)

No published studies show that 70% to 80% of general fibromyalgia patients test positive for mycotoxins. The figures cited likely derive from observational studies in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) who had documented histories of exposure to water-damaged buildings. In a 2013 study of 112 ME/CFS patients with mold exposure, 83% tested positive for ochratoxin A (and 93% for at least one mycotoxin) on commercial ELISA urine assays. A subsequent 2022 study in mold-exposed ME/CFS patients found mycotoxins in 92.4% of urine samples. These findings reflect highly selected, mold-exposed ME/CFS populations rather than representative fibromyalgia cohorts, and the diagnostic reliability of urinary ELISA mycotoxin assays remains controversial.

1:01:37overstatedmoderateUndiagnosed Infections Are Silently Causing Chronic Disease!

Quest Laboratories offers diagnostic testing for Alzheimer's blood biomarkers including p-tau 181, p-tau 217, neurofilament light, and beta-amyloid 42/40 ratio.

"And these are from Quest, like you can get a p-tau 181, p-tau 217, neurofilament light, and beta-amyloid 42/40 ratio from Quest Laboratories, and it is completely covered." (said at 1:01:37)

The statement bundles two distinct claims: commercial availability of specific blood biomarkers and universal insurance coverage. While Quest Diagnostics has developed and offers clinical assays for plasma amyloid-beta 42/40 ratio, phosphorylated tau (p-tau181, p-tau217), and neurofilament light (NfL) to aid in Alzheimer's disease evaluation, the assertion that these tests are 'completely covered' is overstated. Published reviews on the clinical implementation of Alzheimer's blood biomarkers highlight that routine clinical adoption, standardized reimbursement, and comprehensive insurance coverage remain major barriers, with patients frequently facing out-of-pocket costs.

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