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, "Understanding and Treating Lyme Disease: Choices and Challenges" on May 17, 2008 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 an evening networking reception for Lyme disease patients.

Eva Sapi, Ph.D., associate professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences at UNH and organizer of the annual conference, says that topics addressed at the conference include the latest developments in the treatment of chronic Lyme disease, using traditional and alternative methods. Topics will include how the Lyme disease bacteria can escape therapy by forming protective layers around itself and how an alternative imaging method can help researchers better understand the biology of Lyme bacteria. Discussion topics will also include the neuropsychological effect of Lyme disease especially in children, and what parents and educators need to know about it, and new testing for Lyme and tick-borne diseases.

The "Understanding and Treating Lyme Disease: Choices and Challenges" 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 203-215-1290. To register go to unh-lyme

A leader in experiential education, 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, forensic science, music and sound recording, engineering, computer science and criminal justice. University College at UNH develops programs and courses to meet the emerging educational and training needs of educators, businesses and public and social agencies, focusing on academic excellence, convenience and flexibility. University of New Haven students study abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.

University of New Haven