Bannwarth's syndrome and the enlarged neurological spectrum of arthropod-borne borreliosis.

We evaluated the clinical data of 80 patients with neurological disorders due to European arthropod-borne Borrelia burgdorferi infections proven by specific antibody titers. Painful meningoradiculitis of Bannwarth was the predominant neurological manifestation in adults, whereas meningitis with headache and slight stiff neck was the most frequent neurological syndrome in children. Central nervous system involvement occurred only in 13% of the patients; one of these patients had chronic encephalomyelitis for several years. Particularly in those inflammatory neurological diseases without a known history of arthropod bite or erythema migrans serological diagnosis may clarify the clinical condition.