West Haven, Conn., May 3, 2007 - Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the United States, costing about $1 billion a year due to inappropriate medical care, lost productivity, and legal fees associated with misdiagnosis. The latest research on the diagnosis and treatment of the crippling disease will be presented during the second largest Lyme disease conference in the United States, "Current Trends in Lyme Disease Research" on May 19, 2007 at the University of New Haven (UNH), Dodds Theater. The conference is open to the general public with a registration fee of $65. The event includes and evening networking reception and yoga workshop for Lyme disease patients.
Eva Sapi, Ph.D., assistant professor of cellular and molecular biology at UNH and organizer of the annual conference, says that the most important topics addressed at the conference are the latest developments in the treatment of chronic Lyme disease. Discussion topics will also include the connection of Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis to Lyme disease; how ticks affect the immune system; how Lyme disease bacteria can escape the immune system and what sorts of novel pathogens can be found in ticks. In addition, there will be lectures on new testing for Lyme and tick-borne diseases and advice on how health professionals can differentiate mental illness from Lyme disease.
The "Current Trends in Lyme Disease Research" conference is sponsored by the UNH College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, and the Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program.
For more information call 203-479-4552. To register go to http://www.unh-lyme.org
Complete Program schedule:
8:30 - 9:25 a.m.
Opening remarks
Ronald Nowaczyk, PhD, Dean, Arts and Sciences, University of New Haven
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal
Pat Smith, President, Lyme Disease Association, Inc. - Lyme Disease: An Overview of the Impact and What is Being Done About It
9:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Alan MacDonald, M.D., Department of Pathology, St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, Smithtown, NY - Attack Models for Borrelia Burgdorferi -
Intracellular Parasitism and the Spirochete Life Cycle
10:05 - 10:35 a.m.
Stephen K. Wikel, Ph.D., Professor of Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center - Tick Modulation of Host Immune Defenses: Setting the stage for pathogen establishment in the host
10:55 - 11:15 a.m.
Eva Sapi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of New Haven - Recent Discoveries of Novel Pathogens in Ixodes Ticks in Southern Connecticut
11:20 - 11.5: a.m.
Kenneth B. Liegner, M.D., internal medicine, Armonk, NY - History of Chronic Lyme Disease
11:55 a.m.- 12:25 p.m.
Raphael Stricker, M.D., President, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, private practice, San Francisco, CA - Stealth Pathology of Lyme Disease
12:30 - 1:00 p.m.
Jyotsna Shah, Ph.D., Director, IgeneX, Inc., Palo Alto, CA - Laboratory's Role in the Diagnosis of Lyme and Associated Tick-borne Diseases
2:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Brian A. Fallon, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry,
Columbia University, Director, Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center, Columbia University - The Columbia NIH Brain Imaging and Treatment Study: Where Does it Lead Us?
2:35 - 3:05 p.m.
Sandy Berenbaum, LCSW, BCD, Family Connections Center for Counseling, Brewster, NY - Mental Illness or Lyme Disease: How Do We tell the Difference?
3:10 - 3:40 p.m.
Steven Phillips, M.D., former president, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, internal medicine, Wilton, Conn. - Redefining Lyme - The Proverbial Iceberg
4:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Joseph J. Burrascano, M.D., Vice President International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society , Medical Director, Advanced Research Corporation - Lyme Disease - Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines
4:35 - 5:05 p.m.
Richard Horowitz, MD
President-Elect, ILADS, internal medicine, Hyde Park, NY - The Role of Tick-Borne Co-Infections in Chronic Lyme Disease
5:10 - 5:40 p.m.
"Meet the Doctors "panel discussion
5:40 - 7:00 p.m.
Networking Reception
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Yoga Workshop for Lyme Patients
Room 204, Dodds Hall
A leader in experiential learning, the University of New Haven provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. A private University founded in 1920, UNH has a full-time undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,400 students-with 70 percent residing on its 80-acre main campus-and a graduate school enrollment that exceeds 1,700. The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate degrees through its four colleges, in fields such as sports management, nutrition and dietetics, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science, fire science and criminal justice. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.
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