Abstract

The purpose of this study was to delineate distant neurological and neuropsychological effects of severe neuroborreliosis. A group of 33 patients (12 men and 21 women) were selected for the study. Every patient had suffered from severe meningitis, meningoencephalitis or meningopolyradiculoneuritis due to neuroborreliosis in the chronic form of the illness. Standardised medical interview, physical examination and a series of neuropsychological tests (WAIS-R, BDI, BENTON-BENDER, DUM) were performed. In the clinical history, 36.4% of the patients complained of headache, 27.3% of subjective memory distortions; 33.3% of the patients suffered from sleeplessness. The neurological examination showed that 36.4% of the patients experienced such cerebellum integrity disturbances as abnormalities in gait and coordination or even mild ataxia. 21.2% of the patients experienced dysfunction in the proprioceptive pathways, 9% asymmetry in deep tendon reflexes (DTR's), 27.3% disturbances in the sensory responses. The examination showed, however, no muscular strength abnormalities. Half of the patients had slight depression. Psychological tests indicated that 21.2% of the patients had problems in thinking process and experienced memory impairment. 36.4% of the patients had significant organic damage in the central nervous system. The results of this study suggest the existence of long-lasting consequences of acute neuroborreliosis, which can significantly influence the quality of life of patients.