Lyme Disease Update Now Available

The Lyme Disease Association, Inc (LDA) has published Lyme Disease Update: Science, Policy, & Law, the first Lyme disease resource book of its kind.

 Marcus Cohen, columnist for the Townsend Letter for Physicians & Patients, is the author. Best-selling author Amy Tan has written the preface from her personal perspective on the difficulty of getting diagnosed and appropriately treated for Lyme disease.

The foreword was written by Brian Fallon, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and director of the Lyme Disease Research Program at the NYS Psychiatric Institute.  Dr Fallon said Mr Cohen’s book was “carefully referenced” in a style that is “accessible to both the medical professional and [the] educated nonmedical person.”

“This document provides overview and digests of important research findings from the last few decades,” Dr Fallon said. “[It] does an excellent job of providing the reader with an opportunity to learn about some of the pivotal studies in Lyme disease and about areas of research that need to be more aggressively pursued.”

In the first section, Mr Cohen has compiled a digest of the peer-reviewed literature surrounding chronic Lyme disease from diagnosis and treatment to neuroborreliosis, atypical forms of  Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, and other tick-borne diseases. Besides those in the digest form, he presents additional readings in each area.

In the second section of the book, Mr Cohen summarizes a brief history of federal and state activities that have affected the course of Lyme disease. It includes accounts of meetings with various officials, excerpts from letters and reports, and whenever possible, a state-by-state description of the history of the Lyme disease movement, including legislation introduced or passed and officials who have been supportive. Various Lyme disease groups and their activities are mentioned.

The last section touches on legal issues that affect Lyme patients and physicians. Representative cases are included wherever possible. A glossary follows. The book editor is LDA President Patricia Smith.

“The book is a must for busy physicians who lack time to read the peer-review on Lyme disease and for patients who have been refused treatment or even a Lyme diagnosis, the doctor perhaps citing a negative tests — the book documents seronegativity — or the patients’ lack of conformity to the Center for Disease Control criteria, which are meant for surveillance purposes only,” said Maggi Shaw of the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force.

“Patients planning an insurance appeal will also find this reference book useful, as will those struggling to understand the complexities of this disease,” she said.

Ordered directly from the Lyme Disease Association, the paperback book is $8. To receive a copy, send your name and address with a check or money order payable to Lyme Disease Association to: Lyme Disease Association, Attn. Update, PO Box 1438, Jackson NJ 08527. Allow four weeks for delivery.

For local purchase, contact the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force at 270-3301.