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Long-term Findings in Patients with Facial Palsy and Antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi

1994; Informa; Volume: 26; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3109/00365549409011814

1651-1980

Magnus Roberg, Pia Forsberg, Aril Frydén, B Hederstedt, Dag Hydén, Lars Ödkvist,

Vector-Borne Animal Diseases

AbstractLittle is known about the long-term effects of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection in untreated patients with peripheral facial palsy. We investigated 12 patients with elevated serum Bb antibody levels, with a median follow-up time of 11 years, during which 3 of the 12 still exhibited intrathecal antibody production of antibodies against Bb flagellar antigen, and 2 of the 3 had normal serum Bb antibodies. Four of the 12 had elevated serum antibody titres at the late follow-up examination. Arthralgia, reported by 7 patients, was the single most common complaint. Four patients showed extensive oculomotor disturbances, which were not correlated to antibody titres or intrathecal antibody synthesis. In 1 of the patients with intrathecal Bb antibody production, most symptoms were eradicated by antibiotic treatment 6 years after the initial infection. We conclude that even several years after a Bb infection, intrathecal Bb antibody production can still occur in serum Bb IgG antibody negative patients with a history of facial palsy.