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LYME DISEASE
Broadcast starting week of April 12, 2000

The program begins with Steve Brier, who has lived with the symptoms of Lyme Disease since the early ‘90s. Steve’s neurological symptoms include memory and cognition problems. He used to work as a chiropractor in private practice, but had to give that up due to his Lyme Disease symptoms. Before he became ill, he competed in weightlifting, tennis, and golf tournaments. But now he is unable to lead an active life.

Dr. Goodwin then talks to Dr. Patricia Coyle, professor of neurology at the School of Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Coyle explains that Lyme Disease can affect as many as 1 to 2% of the population in areas where the illness is widespread (mainly the northeast, the upper midwest, and parts of the west coast). She said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gets 12,000-16,000 reported cases of the disease each year.

Dr. Coyle says that one difficult aspect of Lyme Disease is that there is no test that can positively identify the disease. The tests usually just identify the presence of antibodies to the disease, which doesn’t always mean the person has it. She points out that the illness is treatable, but if patients don’t receive early treatment, Lyme Disease can cause serious neurological symptoms. She adds that the nervous system is one of the organs targeted by the disease, and that the microorganism that causes Lyme (called a spirochete), can get to the nervous system even before the typical bull’s eye rash develops (within a few days of the tick bite). Some of the neurological symptoms, she says, are facial paralysis, numbness and tingling, headache, stiff neck, difficulty thinking, and impaired memory and processing speed.

Dr. Goodwin then takes a call from Debbie in New York State. Debbie says that since she developed Lyme Disease years ago, she has had burning and aching in her feet, even though she’s been treated for the disease. Dr. Coyle says that this is probably a sign of permanent damage, and doesn’t necessarily mean that Debbie is still infected. Dr. Goodwin then takes a call from Cindy, also in New York State, who says that since developing Lyme Disease several years ago, her son has had seizures. She asks if he will grow out of the seizures. Dr. Coyle says that since they’ve been going on for a number of years, he probably will not outgrow the seizures.

Dr. Goodwin asks about research into preventing Lyme Disease, and Dr. Coyle says that the first vaccine is available, though she later says that the protein in the vaccine may cause arthritis in genetically susceptible people. She adds that the vaccine needs to be boosted in order to stay effective, and it’s not yet known how often the booster is needed. Dr. Goodwin asks Dr. Coyle if Lyme Disease is here to stay. Dr. Coyle says that diseases are hard to eradicate, and unless there is a highly effective vaccine, she doesn’t see Lyme Disease disappearing. For more information on Lyme Disease, check out the American Lyme Disease Foundation’s website at http://www.aldf.com/ or the Lyme Disease Foundation

We then hear from neurologist/poet Dr. David Goldblatt, professor emeritus of neurology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and the former editor of Seminars in Neurology. He reads his poem about the illness, called “Rhyme Disease.”

Dr. Goodwin then talks to Dr. Brian Fallon, the director Of the Lyme Disease Research program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Fallon stresses that Lyme Disease is thought of as a benign illness when caught early. But people can miss the tell-tale bull’s eye rash, if it’s on their back or their scalp, for example. In that case, the disease may go untreated, and get more serious. If it’s not caught early, he says, the illness can infect the brain, and it’s difficult for antibiotics to penetrate the brain. Sometimes people don’t get symptoms for years after they are bitten, so they don’t realize they are infected, and don’t get prompt treatment.

Dr. Fallon says that common symptoms are fatigue, numbness and tingling, headaches, sleep disturbances, and irritability. In addition, people can often get psychiatric symptoms, including changes in mood, problems with anxiety, and even, in rare situations, paranoia or full-blown mania. Dr. Fallon says he recently received an NIH grant to study longer term (10 week) antibiotic therapy for people with persistent symptoms of Lyme Disease.

Dr. Goodwin asks Dr. Fallon about the psychological burden of having Lyme Disease. Dr. Fallon says it is a difficult illness to have, because doctors fight among themselves about whether a patient has Lyme Disease, and also argue about how to treat the illness. Lyme also has a fluctuating symptom pattern, so a sufferer might feel fine one day, and not be able to get out of bed the next. Doctors sometimes dismiss Lyme Disease as hypochondria, and it is often misdiagnosed as a host of other disorders, including depression.

Dr. Fallon talks about a teenage patient of his, who said he was too tired and too dumb to go out on dates and have a normal social life. It turned out he had Lyme Disease, and was successfully treated. His IQ improved 30 points.

Next we hear an update on the West Nile virus, which struck the western hemisphere for the first time last year, infecting 62 people in New York City, and causing brain inflammation and death in 7 elderly people. Jad Abumrad reports that the virus survived the winter, and tells of plans to deal with the virus should it recur this year. For more information on the West Nile Virus, check out the Centers for Disease Control's website.

John Hockenberry then weighs in on the role of psychologists in the case of Elian Gonzales.

 

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