Columbia University Medical Center has opened the first endowed research center for chronic Lyme disease in the world. The Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center in New York will use its vast resources to bring together various disciplines from within and outside the University to address fundamental clinical and basic science questions that plague adults and children affected by Lyme disease. 

The center’s clinical and research mission includes studies of new diagnostic tests, clinical phenomenology, immunopathogenesis, co-infections, genetic markers of vulnerability, brain imaging, neuoropathology of post-mortem brains, well-controlled studies of new treatments and tick pathogens. This Center will serve as a national resource, providing pilot grants to researchers nation-wide and focusing the latest scientific technology on helping to resolve the problems of chronic Lyme disease. 

As Lyme cases increase worldwide, so does the development of chronic disease which may result from a delayed diagnosis and delayed or inadequate treatment. While much is known about early Lyme disease, relatively little is known about chronic Lyme disease, despite its disabling effects, which may include arthritis, cognitive loss, peripheral neuropathies, and debilitating fatigue. Sometimes, Lyme may also cause strokes, blindness, severe psychiatric disorders, and multiple-sclerosis-like illnesses. Adults may become permanently disabled, and children may be home sick for months or years, missing the key academic and social influences so critical to healthy development.