A critical appraisal of the mild axonal peripheral neuropathy of late neurologic Lyme disease

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2017 Feb;87(2):163-167. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2016.11.003. Epub 2016 Nov 12.

Abstract

In older studies, a chronic distal symmetric sensory neuropathy was reported as a relatively common manifestation of late Lyme disease in the United States. However, the original papers describing this entity had notable inconsistencies and certain inexplicable findings, such as reports that this condition developed in patients despite prior antibiotic treatment known to be highly effective for other manifestations of Lyme disease. More recent literature suggests that this entity is seen rarely, if at all. A chronic distal symmetric sensory neuropathy as a manifestation of late Lyme disease in North America should be regarded as controversial and in need of rigorous validation studies before acceptance as a documented clinical entity.

Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Lyme disease; Neuroborreliosis; Neuropathy; Peripheral neuropathy.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Americas
  • Humans
  • Lyme Neuroborreliosis / epidemiology*
  • Lyme Neuroborreliosis / pathology*
  • North America / epidemiology
  • Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / pathology*