Lack of Convincing Evidence That Borrelia Burgdorferi Infection Causes Either Alzheimer Disease or Lewy Body Dementia

Authors

Gary P. Wormser, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA.
Adriana Marques, Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Charles S. Pavia, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA.
Ira Schwartz, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA.
Henry M. Feder, University of Connecticut Medical Center and Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Farmington and Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
Andrew R. Pachner, Department of Neurology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA.

Author Type(s)

Faculty

Journal Title

Clinical Infectious Diseases

First Page

342

Last Page

346

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-25-2022

Department

Medicine

Second Department

Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology

Abstract

The role that microorganisms might have in the development of Alzheimer disease is a topic of considerable interest. In this article, we discuss whether there is credible evidence that Lyme disease is a cause of Alzheimer disease and critically review a recent publication that claimed that Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto infection, the primary cause of Lyme disease in the United States, may cause Lewy body dementia. We conclude that no convincing evidence exists that Lyme disease is a cause of either Alzheimer disease or Lewy body dementia.

Recommended Citation

Wormser, G. P., Marques, A., Pavia, C. S., Schwartz, I., Feder, H. M., & Pachner, A. R. (2022). Lack of Convincing Evidence That Borrelia Burgdorferi Infection Causes Either Alzheimer Disease or Lewy Body Dementia. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 75 (2), 342-346. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab993