"Ridgefield Lyme Disease Task Force" Sponsors: Lyme Research & Testing Seminar/Health Fair

Lyme Research and Testing Seminar/Health Fair Featuring  Dr. Joseph Burrascano & Dr. Eva Sapi set for Tuesday evening May 22 at West Conn

Lyme patients, concerned residents and the medical community will gather at Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday evening, May 22 to learn about the latest “Breakthroughs in Research and Testing” from nationally recognized experts Dr. Joseph Burrascano and Dr. Eva Sapi. The evening begins at 6:00 p.m. with a Lyme-focused health fair providing information on prevention, treatment and supportive therapies. Speaker presentations will run from 7 to 9 p.m. This free community event will be held in the Westside Campus Student Center ballroom, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury.

Dr. Burrascano is a well recognized specialist with more than 25 years experience in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and associated complex infectious diseases, and the chronic illnesses that accompany them. A founding member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, he is currently a Board Member of the affiliated International Lyme and Associated Diseases Educational Foundation.

Dr. Burrascano is actively involved in the development of in vitro culturing methods of symbiotic Borrelia including the Borrelia responsible for Lyme Disease. This landmark achievement provides a new standard for diagnosing all stages of Lyme disease and can be used to follow the outcome of treatment.  His ongoing project, “The Lyme and Associated Diseases Registry™” -- which follows each selected patient from the beginning to the end of their illness, tracking symptoms, tests, treatments and outcomes-- is actively collecting data. 

Dr. Sapi received her PhD degree in Genetics from the University of Eotvos Lorand (Budapest Hungary) and completed her postdoctoral training at Yale University where she studied the effects of hormonal factors on the development of breast and ovarian cancer. She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of New Haven where she teaches graduate biology classes and directs the university’s Lyme Disease Research Program. Over 60 graduate students have trained in Lyme disease related research since she established this team eight years ago. In the last several years, the group has identified an alarming increase in the co-infection rate in deer ticks, including the discovery of novel co-infections such as mycoplasma and microfilarial nematode species.

Recently, her research group studied the different forms of Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria to better understand how Borrelia can hide from the immune system and from different therapies. In collaboration with Dr. Alan MacDonald, the research group discovered that Borrelia burgdorferi is capable of forming a protective layer around itself- called biofilm- which could render it to be very resistant to antiobiotics and provide a logical explanation as to why extensive antibiotic treatment for patients with a tick bite history could fail. The goal of her research group is to identify novel antibacterial agents that are effective in killing all forms of Borrelia burgdorferi.

This year’s event is sponsored by the Ridgefield Lyme Disease Task Force, Advanced Laboratory Services, Dr. Richard Beck-Chiropractor, Breiner Whole Body Health Center,  IGeneX, Inc., Master Supplements, Inc. and Select TCS Tick Control System.

For additional information, contact rldtf@comcast.net. 

For directions, go http://www.wcsu.edu/campustour/directions.asp.