Treponema pallidum and Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, in late syphilis and late Lyme disease can cause cerebral infarct and cognitive decline (dementia) in parenchymatous neurosyphilis and Lyme neuroborreliosis.

The cognitive decline (dementia)  is caused by the direct invasion of brain parenchyma by spirochetes (direct parenchymal involvement) years or decades follwoing the primary infection.

Cerebral infarcts in the meningovascular form of neurospirochetoses (Meningovascular form of neurosyphilis and Lyme neuroborreliosis) is not caused by the spirochetal invasion of brain tissue. The parenchymal involvement is secondary to the obliteration of the vascular lumen of affected meningeal arteries. It may also result of so called "vascular" dementia.

Consequently, to exclude infection, e.g. Borrelia  infection in patients with dementia and stroke, particularly in endemic areas of Lyme disease  is primordial.

 Here we describe the line of research we have followed during the last 15 years with respect to the involvement of spirochetes, including Borrelia burgdorferi in Alzheimer's disease and in cerebral infarcts. This line of research represents a serie of experiments we have performed, which are linked to each other. The goal was to answer the question, whether several types of spirochetes, including Borrelia burgdorferi, may be involved in AD and in stroke.

1. ALZHEIMER DISEASE

2. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

3. BACTERIA, INCLUDING SPIROCHETES ARE POWERFUL STIMULATORS OF INFLAMMATION AND ARE AMYLOIDOGENIC

4. CHRONIC BACTERIAL INFECTION CAN CAUSE DEMENTIA

5. SPIROCHETES 

6. OUR CONTRIBUTION TO THIS EMERGING FIELD OF RESEARCH        

7. CONCLUSION

 
8. PUBLICATIONS  FROM OUR LABORATORY RELATED TO  THE INVOLVEMENT OF SPIROCHETES IN STROKE (CEREBROVASCULAR INFARCT) AND  ALZHIEMER'S DISEASE 

9. REFERENCES