Only after 14-year-old Amanda (not her real name) had been
hospitalized for the fourth time in one year after suffering
from hallucinations did her mother think about Lyme disease.
Months before her daughter became ill, a bull's-eye rash
appeared on her leg the characteristic marker of early Lyme
disease and she was treated with a short course of oral
antibiotics. Could her psychiatric problems be related to her
prior bout with Lyme disease? Anti-psychotic medications weren't
working, so Amanda's mother asked for the opinion of Brian
Fallon, M.D., M.P.H., a psychiatrist and Lyme expert at Columbia
and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. More patients like
Amanda are now being evaluated at a new Lyme and Tick-borne
Disease Evaluation Service at Columbia, which opened July 26.
The service focuses on patients who are still experiencing
symptoms after being diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease and
patients who have unexplained psychiatric symptoms that may be
due to Lyme or other tick-borne diseases. The