Lyme Disease Research Study in Adolescents

Doctoral Dissertation

Teacher's College, Columbia University

IRB#06-010

 

LYME STUDY NO LONGER ACTIVELY RECRUITING ADOLESCENTS WITH LYME DISEASE, ADOLESCENTS WITHOUT LYME DISEASE STILL NEEDED TO ACT AS COMPARISON GROUP.  FOR INFORMATION ABOUT CURRENT PHASE OF STUDY, READ BELOW.  FOR INFORMATION ABOUT PAST STUDY, CLICK ON LINK BELOW.

 

http://www.lymediseaseresearch.com/webpage

 

Website: http://www.lymediseaseresearch.com/

E-mail: Pmcauliffe@lymediseaseresearch.com.

Phone: 203-246-0000

 

Patrick McAuliffe, M.Ed.—a doctoral candidate at Teacher's College, Columbia University in the program in school psychology and school psychologist at Ridgefield High School, Ridgefield, Connecticut —is recruiting teenagers for a free study on the relationship between Lyme disease and cognition.  Lyme disease may have a dramatic, disruptive effect on teens trying to meet the academic and emotional challenges they encounter every day. Some students become so ill they can’t attend school on a daily basis. Those who make it to class may struggle with debilitating symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and joint pain. They may also experience a sharp, sudden decline in academic achievement. Teens with Lyme may well be overwhelmed as they try to meet the intense academic and social pressures of teenage life.  Mr. McAuliffe has completed collecting information on students with Lyme disease and is need of students without Lyme disease to act as a control group.

 

Mr. McAuliffe is conducting a research project to examine the cognitive effects of Lyme disease in adolescents. The need is great, since Lyme is a controversial disease and spreading rapidly. Estimated to affect as many as 54 % of households in some communities, Lyme disease case reports doubled from 1991 to 2000, and have since risen a dramatic 40% between 2001 and 2002. Children are at special risk, since they spend so much time outdoors in their yards or on school grounds.

 

Objective research with appropriate psychological instruments is vitally important in order to properly evaluate teens suffering with Lyme. If Lyme’s cognitive consequences are not identified and treated, the results can be devastating, leading to school difficulty and even school failure. The social consequences can also be extremely painful.

About the study

 

Adolescents in high school between the ages of 13 and 18, both with and without Lyme disease, are eligible to participate. Parents of teenagers who are interested in participating will be screened by phone about their teen’s medical history. If eligible, the teen will be given various psychological tests (2 hours) that measure cognitive functioning. Testing is at no cost to the participants, results are kept private, and participants also receive a $15.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com. 

Below is a list of participants needed to act a control group for adolescents with Lyme disease that have already been tested.