November 30, 2007 In a decision with national implications for how suspected cases of Lyme disease are treated, a state physician review panel is recommending that controversial pediatrician Charles Ray Jones be reprimanded and put on two years' probation for his diagnosis and treatment of two Nevada children.

If the panel's recommendation is upheld next month, the New Haven area pediatrician — who gained support across the nation because of his willingness to ignore consensus treatment guidelines and prescribe long-term antibiotics to children with symptoms of Lyme — would also have to pay a $10,000 fine and pay a doctor to review records of his patients.

The decision calls into question the medical validity of treating patients who show symptoms of Lyme disease — such as aching joints and fatigue — but don't meet the criteria established by mainstream doctors.

Advocates for patients who say they have chronic Lyme disease argue those criteria are too narrow and lead to needless suffering.

But the panel from the Connecticut Medical Examining Board upheld most, though not all, of the state health department's allegations about Jones' diagnosis and treatment of two Nevada children in 2004 and 2005, which came into question during a bitter custody dispute.

Click link above to read the entire article.

To read the board's findings, visit www.courant.com/lyme.

Source: WILLIAM HATHAWAY | Courant Staff Writer