Virtual Community Engagement Session 1: Mental Health and Neurological Effects: October 24, 2024

Session 1: Mental Health and Neurological Effects

View the Meeting Recording

When: October 24, 2024

Where: Virtual

Meeting Goal: The purpose of this meeting is to engage the public—patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers, in particular—in an educational and informative session on the mental health and neurological effects of tick-borne diseases and associated illnesses and conditions (TBDAIC). Presentations by clinicians and researchers will provide insights into these complex and multi-faceted topics.

Meeting Objectives:

  • Validate the patient and caregiver experience.
  • Educate the audience about the nuanced mental health challenges of TBDAIC.
  • Describe potential neurological effects of certain TBDAIC.
  • Provide resources for patients and caregivers seeking help with the mental health effects of TBDAIC.
  • Furnish information to help healthcare providers recognize, treat, and proactively address the mental health effects of TBDAIC in their patients.
Meeting Agenda
TimeAgenda Item
1:00 pm - 1:15 pm

Introduction and Welcome Remarks

  • James Berger, MS, MT(ASCP), SBB
    Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP)
  • B. Kaye Hayes, MPA
    Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP)
  • ADM Rachel L. Levine, MD
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Clinician Perspectives

1:15 pm - 1:45 pm

Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Tick-borne Diseases and Associated Illnesses

  • Brian A. Fallon, MD, MPH
    Director, Center for Neuroinflammatory Disorders and Biobehavioral Medicine
    Director, Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center at Columbia University
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm

Neurologic Lyme Disease in Children: Preview of an Ongoing Clinical Study

  • Lise E. Nigrovic, MD, MPH
    Senior Physician in Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
2:15 pm - 2:45 pm

It's Not Just About Avoiding Red Meat: Giving Voice to the Untold Implications of Alpha-gal Syndrome

  • Scott Commins, MD, PhD
    Medical Director, UNC Allergy & Immunology Clinic at Eastowne Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, UNC School of Medicine
2:45 pm - 3:00 pmBreak
3:00 pm – 3:20 pm

A Clinician Toolkit: Improving Care for Patients with Prolonged Symptoms and Concerns about Lyme Disease

  • Grace E. Marx, MD
    Medical Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Researcher Perspectives

3:20 pm – 3:50 pm

Brain Changes and Symptom Correlates in Lyme disease

  • Cherie Marvel, PhD
    Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
3:50 pm – 4:20 pm

Powassan Encephalitis: An Emerging Tick-Borne Disease of Human Health Concern

  • Saravanan Thangamani, PhD
    Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY
4:20 pm – 4:30 pm

Concluding Remarks and Adjournment

  • James Berger, MS, MT(ASCP), SBB (OIDP)
    What did we hear today?
    What’s next: Upcoming sessions and Portland ME Public Meeting

This is a draft agenda and subject to change

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