Brainstem abnormalities and vestibular nerve enhancement in acute neuroborreliosis

Neuroborreliosis with involvement of rhombencephalon: A case report

We describe a case of a 52 year-old woman who was hospitalized with rhombencephalitis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The patient presented with intermittent fever, dry cough, fatigue, global headache, night sweats, unintentional weight loss, and neurological symptoms like diplopia, tremor, paresthesia and ataxia. Examination of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) revealed positive Borrelia burgdorferi-specific antibody index and presence of CSF oligoclonal IgG bands, indicating intrathecal synthesis of Borrelia-specific antibodies. The clinical and biochemical picture thus suggested neuroborreliosis. Unexpectedly a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan demonstrated inflammation in rhombencephalon that are extremely rare in patients with neuroborreliosis. The patient was treated with intravenous ceftriaxone with rapid improvement of her symptoms. The MRI findings were in regress six weeks after onset of antibiotic treatment, and normalized after about seven months.

•

Rhombencephalitis refers to inflammatory diseases of the rhombencephalon that include the pons, cerebellum and medulla oblongata.

•

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato includes the pathogenic genospecies that causes Lyme disease and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks in the Ixodidae family, in Europe Ixodes ricinus.

•

To diagnose neuroborreliosis can be challenging; it can cause a wide range of unspecific symptoms, the serological tests can be difficult to interpret, the initial CSF findings can be unspecific, and direct test methods like PCR have low sensitivity.

•

Neuroborreliosis should be considered in all patients with neurological symptoms and findings suggesting inflammation in the CNS, also if normal imaging.

•

If the clinical picture suggests neuroborreliosis, initiate treatment as soon as possible, and simultaneously continue to investigate for differential diagnoses if indicated.

Vertigo as One of the Symptoms of Lyme Disease

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of vertigo symptoms and potential labyrinth damage in patients with diagnosed Lyme disease (LD). LD can affect the vestibulocochlear nerve, leading to hearing loss and vertigo/dizziness. Material and Methods: The study included a group of 38 patients between the ages of 20 and 77, who were hospitalized due to vertigo/dizziness between 2018 and 2019. All of the patients underwent a detailed medical interview and an otolaryngological and neurological examination, including video electronystagmography (VENG), in addition to audiological and diagnostic tests. Additionally, ELISA and Western blot tests were performed to confirm the diagnosis of LD. Results: In 20 patients (53%), the Romberg trial was positive (p < 0.001). The degree of vestibular dysfunction as shown by the VENG test was associated with the rate of hearing loss as confirmed by the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test (p = 0.011), and it mainly concerned high-frequency sounds (p = 0.014). Conclusion: Vertigo can be a symptom of LD. It is often associated with labyrinth and hearing-organ damage, which can imply that the inner ear or nerve VIII is dysfunctional in the course of this disease. Antibiotic therapy is effective in reducing otoneurological symptoms.

Bilateral Vestibulopathy in Neuroborreliosis

OBJECTIVE

To describe a unique case of definite neuroborreliosis presenting with bilateral vestibulopathy (BV) due to simultaneous involvement of both vestibular systems highlighted by a complete assessment for all five vestibular receptors.

PATIENT

A 72-year-old woman presented with disabling disequilibrium arisen about 4 weeks earlier and history of erythema migrans developing about 45 days before.

INTERVENTIONS

Assessing all five vestibular receptors with the video-head impulse test (vHIT), the suppression head impulse paradigm (SHIMP) and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs), a severe bilateral vestibulopathy was diagnosed. IgG and IgM Borrelia-specific antibodies on patient serum and cerebrospinal fluid analysis confirmed the diagnosis of neuroborreliosis. Following diagnosis, a course of doxycycline was started and the patients received an individualized vestibular rehabilitation program.

RESULTS

The patient exhibited slowly progressive improvements for disabling symptoms and the improving function of all five vestibular receptors was monitored with vHIT, SHIMP, and VEMPs over time.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first case report of bilateral vestibulopathy likely caused by neuroborreliosis. Although neurotologic involvement is an uncommon complication in this condition, clinicians should consider a vestibular testing battery when addressed by patient's history and bedside vestibular findings.

Rare Disorders of the Vestibular Labyrinth: of Zebras, Chameleons and Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

The differential diagnosis of vertigo syndromes is a challenging issue, as many - and in particular - rare disorders of the vestibular labyrinth can hide behind the very common symptoms of "vertigo" and "dizziness". The following article presents an overview of those rare disorders of the balance organ that are of special interest for the otorhinolaryngologist dealing with vertigo disorders. For a better orientation, these disorders are categorized as acute (AVS), episodic (EVS) and chronic vestibular syndromes (CVS) according to their clinical presentation. The main focus lies on EVS sorted by their duration and the presence/absence of triggering factors (seconds, no triggers: vestibular paroxysmia, Tumarkin attacks; seconds, sound and pressure induced: "third window" syndromes; seconds to minutes, positional: rare variants and differential diagnoses of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo; hours to days, spontaneous: intralabyrinthine schwannomas, endolymphatic sac tumors, autoimmune disorders of the inner ear). Furthermore, rare causes of AVS (inferior vestibular neuritis, otolith organ specific dysfunction, vascular labyrinthine disorders, acute bilateral vestibulopathy) and CVS (chronic bilateral vestibulopathy) are covered. In each case, special emphasis is laid on the decisive diagnostic test for the identification of the rare disease and "red flags" for potentially dangerous disorders (e. g. labyrinthine infarction/hemorrhage). Thus, this chapter may serve as a clinical companion for the otorhinolaryngologist aiding in the efficient diagnosis and treatment of rare disorders of the vestibular labyrinth.

Vertigo and Severe Balance Instability as Symptoms of Lyme Disease-Literature Review and Case Report

Lyme disease is caused by a tick-borne bacterium Borrelia sp. This zoonotic infection is common in the Northern Hemisphere, e.g., Europe. Clinical presentation may involve multisystem symptoms and depends on the stage of the disease. The involvement of nervous system in Lyme disease is commonly referred to as neuroborreliosis. Neuroborreliosis may involve meningitis, mononeuritis multiplex, or cranial neuritis including the inflammation of vestibulocochlear nerve. In the late or chronic stage of Lyme disease, vestibular involvement may be the sole presentation, although such cases are rare. Our study was designed to present our own case and review the available literature reporting cases of neuroborreliosis with vertigo/dizziness and severe balance instability as a main disease symptom. The studies were obtained by searching the following databases: PubMed, Medline, and Embase. We included case reports of Lyme disease presenting with vertigo or gait disorders as the main symptom, written in the English language. Initially, 60 papers were identified. After analyzing the abstracts, seven manuscripts focusing on 13 clinical cases were included in this review. We conclude that the patients with neuroborreliosis sometimes present vertigo/dizziness, but rarely gait ataxia as a sole symptom. These complaints are usually accompanied by a hearing loss. Antibiotic treatment is usually effective. Balance instability in the patients with neuroborreliosis may persist but it responds well to vestibular rehabilitation.

Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction: Insights in Etiologies, Clinical Subtypes, and Diagnostics

Objective

To evaluate the different etiologies and clinical subtypes of bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) and the value of diagnostic tools in the diagnostic process of BVH.

Materials and methods

A retrospective case review was performed on 154 patients diagnosed with BVH in a tertiary referral center, between 2013 and 2015. Inclusion criteria comprised (1) imbalance and/or oscillopsia during locomotion and (2) summated slow phase velocity of nystagmus of less than 20°/s during bithermal caloric tests.

Results

The definite etiology of BVH was determined in 47% of the cases and the probable etiology in 22%. In 31%, the etiology of BVH remained idiopathic. BVH resulted from more than 20 different etiologies. In the idiopathic group, the percentage of migraine was significantly higher compared to the non-idiopathic group (50 versus 11%, p < 0.001). Among all patients, 23.4% were known with autoimmune disorders in their medical history. All four clinical subtypes (recurrent vertigo with BVH, rapidly progressive BVH, slowly progressive BVH, and slowly progressive BVH with ataxia) were found in this population. Slowly progressive BVH with ataxia comprised only 4.5% of the cases. The head impulse test was abnormal in 94% of the cases. The torsion swing test was abnormal in 66%. Bilateral normal hearing to moderate hearing loss was found in 49%. Blood tests did not often contribute to the determination of the etiology of the disease. Abnormal cerebral imaging was found in 21 patients.

Conclusion

BVH is a heterogeneous condition with various etiologies and clinical characteristics. Migraine seems to play a significant role in idiopathic BVH and autoimmunity could be a modulating factor in the development of BVH. The distribution of etiologies of BVH probably depends on the clinical setting. In the diagnostic process of BVH, the routine use of some blood tests can be reconsidered and a low-threshold use of audiometry and cerebral imaging is advised. The torsion swing test is not the “gold standard” for diagnosing BVH due to its lack of sensitivity. Future diagnostic criteria of BVH should consist of standardized vestibular tests combined with a history that is congruent with the vestibular findings.

Relevance of chronic lyme disease to family medicine as a complex multidimensional chronic disease construct: a systematic review

Lyme disease has become a global public health problem and a prototype of an emerging infection. Both treatment-refractory infection and symptoms that are related to Borrelia burgdorferi infection remain subject to controversy. Because of the absence of solid evidence on prevalence, causes, diagnostic criteria, tools and treatment options, the role of autoimmunity to residual or persisting antigens, and the role of a toxin or other bacterial-associated products that are responsible for the symptoms and signs, chronic Lyme disease (CLD) remains a relatively poorly understood chronic disease construct. The role and performance of family medicine in the detection, integrative treatment, and follow-up of CLD are not well studied either. The purpose of this paper is to describe insights into the complexity of CLD as a multidimensional chronic disease construct and its relevance to family medicine by means of a systematic literature review.