Coyle, Patricia

Patricia K. Coyle, MD, FAAN, FANA
Professor & Vice Chair (Clinical Affairs) Department of Neurology
Director, MS Comprehensive Care Center
Stony Brook University Medical Center
Stony Brook, New York

“Diagnosing Neurologic Lyme Disease”

Patricia K. Coyle, MD, FAAN, FANA, is Professor and Vice Chair (Clinical Affairs) of Neurology, and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center at Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, New York. She received a BS degree with highest honors from Fordham University, Bronx, New York, and an MD degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. While at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she completed a residency and chief residency in neurology, followed by a two-year fellowship in neurovirology and neuroimmunology. She then went on to establish a successful research laboratory in addition to building a busy clinical practice at the Stony Brook University Medical Center.

Dr. Coyle is the author of numerous articles on clinical and basic research aspects of neurologic infections and multiple sclerosis (MS). She is recognized as a leading expert in the areas of Lyme disease and neurologic infections, cerebrospinal fluid, therapeutics, and neuroimmunology. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations, and she directed a Program Project grant on Neurologic Lyme disease. She is currently involved in studies addressing neurologic aspects of Lyme disease, and therapeutic trials testing new immunotherapies for MS. In addition to her busy clinical and research careers, she has held active leadership positions in a number of national and international organizations and academic societies, including the American Academy of Neurology, American Neurological Association, National MS Society, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She served on the FDA CNS/PNS Advisory Panel and currently serves on the Southampton Hospital Tick Resource Center Advisory Panel. She lectures widely on neurologic infections and MS to national and international audiences.

Conference Lecture Summary

Lyme disease is our major human spirochetal infection. The nervous system is a favored target organ. This talk will discuss the diagnosis of neurologic Lyme disease in practical terms. It will cover when to suspect the infection, characteristic as well as unusual syndromes, the main differential diagnoses, and appropriate workup including how to interpret the variety of test results. The goal is not to miss the diagnosis of neurologic Lyme disease, so that appropriate and timely treatment may be provided.