Background: Neuroborreliosis affects peripheral and central nervous system.
Objectives: Point out on possibilities of laboratory diagnostics of neuroborreliosis.
Subjects and methods: During 1997-2001 we tested 666 pair samples of CSF and serum from 661 patients with different neurological diagnosis by ELISA, Westernblot, PCR, completed by biochemical and cytological investigations.
Results: We confirmed intrathecal specific IgG antibodies production by AI in 14 cases (2.1%) of total 666 samples tested. From those in 7 cases there were present also IgM antibodies in CSF. We found borderline AI values in 3 cases (0.5%) and isolated intrathecal production, antibodies present only in CSF, in 1 case (0.15%). There were normal AI values found in 25 cases (3.8%). Specific antibody possitivity by WB method was detected only in one case. DNA positivity by PCR was detected in one CSF from 43 samples during 2 years period.
Conclusions: The microbiological test results should not be used in isolation but used in correlation with the biochemical and cytologic tests and also with clinical symptoms and epidemiological data to produce an overall clinical diagnosis. (Tab. 7, Fig. 1, Ref. 21)