Chronic or Late Lyme Neuroborreliosis: Present and Future

The issue in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme neuroorreliosis is assessed followed by a comprehensive analysis of the involvement of connective tissue and associated clinical manifestations. A critical review shows that both the meningovascular and meningoencephalitic forms, which define chronic or late neurosyphilis also occur in Lyme neuroborreliosis. Clinical and pathological confir-mation of these tertiary forms and detection of Borrelia burgdorferi in association with tertiary brain lesions were reported by many authors. These observations indicate that similarly to Treponema pallidum, Borrelia burgdorferi infection is directly involved in the late or chronic manifestations of Lyme neuroborreliosis. Chronic or late Lyme neuroborreliosis both refer to tertiary neuroborreliosis, therefore, the use of these terms as different entities is not justified and may lead to confusion.