May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month;

Aided by the NIH, Researchers Focus on Cognitive & Other Issues

WHO:             Dr. Brian Fallon, Director,
                        Lyme Disease Research Program

 WHAT:          Focus of an NIH study of Lyme Disease

 WHERE:      The New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI)
                       1051 Riverside Drive & W. 165^th St.

      New York reports more cases of Lyme Disease to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) than any other state, according to Dr. Brian Fallon. In some counties, as many as one in four households have had at least one member affected by Lyme Disease.

     The disease can cause neuropsychiatric problems such as irritability, mood swings, mania, cognitive problems and, in rare cases, psychotic states.

     A National Institutes of Health-sponsored study currently underway at the New York State Psychiatric Institute is investigating whether a repeated course of IV antibiotic therapy helps adults with persistent cognitive problems. Additionally, Dr. Fallon is using imaging technology to explore whether the disease causes vasculitis or neuronal metabolic dysfunction.

    Dr. Fallon heads the New York State Psychiatric Institute Lyme Disease Research Program, the first of its kind in the U.S. He will direct the soon-to-be-established Lyme Disease Research Center at Columbia University.