Can Lyme Disease Cause Encephalopathy? Memory Loss, Brain Fog, and Cognitive Symptoms
Lyme encephalopathy may cause memory loss, brain fog, and confusion
Studies describe cognitive and peripheral nerve involvement
Diagnosis and treatment remain areas of ongoing research
Lyme encephalopathy is a term that has been used for decades to describe cognitive symptoms reported by some patients with Lyme disease. These symptoms may include memory loss, brain fog, confusion, slowed thinking, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbance, fatigue, mood changes, and difficulty finding words.
Lyme encephalopathy may cause memory loss, brain fog, confusion, and difficulty concentrating in some patients with Lyme disease. Multiple published studies have described these cognitive symptoms, although some experts question whether Lyme encephalopathy represents a distinct neurologic entity.
These cognitive symptoms are part of the broader spectrum of possible Lyme disease symptoms involving the nervous system.
Why Lyme encephalopathy remains controversial
Physicians, including Dr. Gary Wormser, who operate a Lyme disease diagnostic center, published an article entitled Management approaches for suspected and established Lyme disease used at the Lyme Disease Diagnostic Center.
The authors stated:
“We have also never seen Lyme encephalopathy or a diffuse axonal peripheral neuropathy and suggest that these entities are either very rare or nonexistent.”
The article reflects the experience of one referral center and may not capture the full spectrum of patients reported elsewhere in the medical literature.
The publication also did not describe the outcomes of patients evaluated through private appointments with the medical director or other infectious disease physicians associated with the center.
Studies describing Lyme encephalopathy
The term Lyme encephalopathy has appeared in the peer-reviewed medical literature for more than three decades.
In a landmark paper entitled Chronic neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease, Logigian, Kaplan, and Steere reported that 24 of 27 patients with chronic neurologic Lyme disease presented with a mild encephalopathy. The encephalopathy began between one month and 14 years after the onset of Lyme disease and was characterized by memory loss, mood changes, and sleep disturbances.1
Additional symptoms included fatigue, headaches, depression, irritability, and difficulty finding words.1
The authors described objective abnormalities on neuropsychological testing in some patients. They also reported that cerebrospinal fluid findings were often normal, illustrating that cognitive symptoms were not necessarily accompanied by the findings expected in meningitis or encephalitis.1
Can Lyme disease cause peripheral neuropathy?
The same research team described diffuse axonal peripheral neuropathy in some patients with chronic neurologic Lyme disease.
Many patients experienced peripheral sensory symptoms, including distal paresthesias, spinal pain, or radicular pain. Electrophysiologic testing, particularly in patients with distal paresthesias, often demonstrated an axonal polyneuropathy.1
The researchers also reported that sural nerve biopsies from affected patients showed predominantly axonal injury with perivascular infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells around epineural blood vessels.1
Peripheral neuropathy can have many possible causes, including diabetes, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid disease, alcohol use, medications, autoimmune disorders, and other neurologic diseases. Lyme disease should therefore be considered within the patient’s complete clinical history rather than assumed to explain every case of numbness, tingling, burning pain, or weakness.
Treatment studies involving Lyme encephalopathy
In 1999, Logigian and colleagues published a study of 18 patients with Lyme encephalopathy. Following a four-week course of intravenous ceftriaxone, patients rated themselves as having improved or returned to normal.2
Fallon and colleagues later studied 37 patients with a history of Lyme disease and objectively confirmed memory impairment. Participants received 10 weeks of intravenous ceftriaxone or placebo.3
The study found short-term cognitive improvement in the antibiotic-treated group, but the cognitive benefit was not sustained after treatment ended. Improvements in pain, physical functioning, and fatigue were reported in selected patients, while adverse events related to treatment also occurred.3
These findings illustrate why the treatment of persistent cognitive symptoms following Lyme disease remains controversial. Study results must be interpreted alongside the severity of illness, objective findings, previous treatment, possible coinfections, alternative diagnoses, and the risks associated with additional antibiotic therapy.
Lyme encephalopathy is not the same as Lyme encephalitis
Lyme encephalopathy and Lyme encephalitis are not interchangeable terms.
Encephalopathy generally describes impaired brain function that may cause memory problems, confusion, slowed thinking, difficulty concentrating, or changes in behavior. It does not necessarily indicate direct inflammation of brain tissue.
Encephalitis refers to inflammation of the brain and may cause fever, severe confusion, altered consciousness, seizures, focal neurologic deficits, or other acute neurologic findings. Encephalitis is considered an uncommon manifestation of Lyme disease.
This distinction is important because people searching for “Lyme encephalitis symptoms” may actually be experiencing cognitive complaints more consistent with what has historically been called Lyme encephalopathy.
Long-term cognitive and neurologic symptoms
It remains unclear how frequently cognitive impairment, peripheral neuropathy, or other neurologic symptoms persist following treatment for Lyme disease.
In a population-based retrospective cohort study, Shadick and colleagues evaluated the long-term clinical outcomes of patients previously treated for Lyme disease. Some patients reported arthritis or recurrent arthralgias, neurocognitive impairment, neuropathy, or myelopathy an average of six years after treatment.4
Asch and colleagues studied 215 consecutively treated patients from Westchester County, New York. The authors reported that 62% had arthralgias, arthritis, or cardiac or neurologic involvement, with or without fatigue, an average of 3.2 years after treatment.5
Aucott and colleagues also reported ongoing symptoms following treatment. Although objective signs of Lyme disease disappeared after treatment, new patient-reported symptoms increased or plateaued over time. At six months, 36% reported new-onset fatigue, 20% reported widespread pain, and 45% reported neurocognitive difficulties.6
Patients with persistent cognitive symptoms may fall within a broader group described as having post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Additional mechanisms that may contribute to ongoing symptoms are discussed in Persistent Lyme disease mechanisms.
What might cause persistent cognitive symptoms?
The mechanisms responsible for cognitive symptoms following Lyme disease have not been fully established.
Possible explanations under investigation include persistent infection in a subset of patients, residual tissue injury, immune or inflammatory changes, autonomic dysfunction, sleep disruption, pain, medication effects, depression, anxiety, and other medical conditions that may occur independently or overlap with Lyme disease.
Persistent infection has been proposed as one possible explanation in some patients and remains an area of ongoing investigation.
Symptoms such as brain fog, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, sleep disturbance, and difficulty concentrating may also overlap with autonomic dysfunction associated with Lyme disease.
A careful evaluation is important because memory problems and confusion may also result from thyroid disease, anemia, vitamin deficiencies, sleep apnea, medication effects, metabolic disorders, depression, other infections, neurodegenerative disease, or structural neurologic conditions.
Recent neurologic reviews and ongoing debate
In a 2022 review, neurologist John Halperin discussed what he characterized as facts and fallacies surrounding nervous system Lyme disease.7
Halperin emphasized the more established neurologic manifestations of untreated Lyme disease, including meningitis, cranial neuritis, and radiculoneuritis. He argued that misconceptions regarding neurologic Lyme disease and laboratory testing have led to a broad range of symptoms being attributed to the infection without sufficient evidence.7
However, more recent proposed research classification criteria developed by Fallon and colleagues continue to include encephalopathy and polyneuropathy among objective neurologic manifestations for research purposes.8 The authors emphasized that these criteria are intended to improve research consistency and are not clinical diagnostic criteria.
Thus, current literature reflects differing interpretations of the same clinical observations rather than universal agreement regarding terminology. The continuing discussion illustrates that the classification, mechanisms, and treatment of persistent cognitive symptoms after Lyme disease remain active areas of research rather than settled questions.
Other complications associated with Lyme disease
Lyme disease may involve more than the brain and peripheral nerves. Published reports have described neuropsychiatric manifestations,9 persistent fatigue and other symptoms following treatment,10,11 ocular involvement,12 and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome following Lyme disease.13
Patients with continuing symptoms may experience impaired physical functioning and reduced quality of life. The clinical picture may also vary over time, making it important to evaluate the full course of illness rather than relying on one symptom or test result.
For patients with prolonged illness, the relationship between cognitive symptoms and persistent Lyme disease remains an important area of clinical and scientific investigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Lyme disease cause memory loss?
Memory loss and difficulty learning or recalling information have been described in some patients with neurologic or persistent manifestations of Lyme disease. However, memory problems have many possible causes, and Lyme disease should be considered within the patient’s complete clinical history.
What are the symptoms of Lyme encephalopathy?
Symptoms described in studies of Lyme encephalopathy include memory impairment, brain fog, slowed thinking, difficulty concentrating, word-finding problems, fatigue, sleep disturbance, headaches, irritability, depression, and mood changes.
Is Lyme encephalopathy the same as Lyme encephalitis?
No. Lyme encephalopathy generally refers to cognitive dysfunction without necessarily demonstrating inflammation of brain tissue. Encephalitis refers to inflammation of the brain and may cause severe confusion, altered consciousness, seizures, fever, or focal neurologic deficits.
Can Lyme disease cause brain fog and confusion?
Some patients with Lyme disease report brain fog, confusion, slowed mental processing, and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms have been described in clinical studies, although their mechanisms and relationship to active infection remain debated.
Can cognitive symptoms develop after Lyme disease treatment?
Yes. Some patients report persistent or newly recognized cognitive symptoms after completing antibiotic treatment. These symptoms may be associated with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome or other persistent manifestations, but alternative medical, neurologic, psychiatric, sleep-related, and medication-related causes should also be evaluated.
Clinical Takeaway
Lyme encephalopathy has been described in the peer-reviewed medical literature for more than three decades, particularly in patients reporting memory loss, impaired concentration, slowed thinking, sleep disturbance, and word-finding difficulties.
Some experts question whether Lyme encephalopathy represents a distinct neurologic entity, while other investigators have documented cognitive abnormalities and peripheral nerve involvement in selected patients with Lyme disease.
More recent research classification criteria continue to include encephalopathy and polyneuropathy among objective neurologic manifestations for research purposes, underscoring that this remains an evolving area of investigation rather than a settled issue.8
Patients with persistent or worsening cognitive symptoms require a careful evaluation for Lyme disease manifestations as well as alternative neurologic, metabolic, psychiatric, sleep-related, and medication-related explanations.
The continuing scientific debate should not prevent clinicians from taking memory loss, brain fog, confusion, and other cognitive symptoms seriously while carefully evaluating their underlying causes.
Related Articles
Learn more about neurologic complications and persistent manifestations of Lyme disease:
Persistent Lyme disease overview
Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS)
Autonomic dysfunction and Lyme disease
Lyme disease misdiagnosis
Recovery from Lyme disease
References
- Logigian EL, Kaplan RF, Steere AC. Chronic neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease. N Engl J Med. 1990;323(21):1438-1444.
- Logigian EL, Kaplan RF, Steere AC. Successful treatment of Lyme encephalopathy with intravenous ceftriaxone. J Infect Dis. 1999;180(2):377-383.
- Fallon BA, Keilp JG, Corbera KM, et al. A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of repeated IV antibiotic therapy for Lyme encephalopathy. Neurology. 2008;70(13):992-1003.
- Shadick NA, Phillips CB, Logigian EL, et al. The long-term clinical outcomes of Lyme disease: A population-based retrospective cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 1994;121(8):560-567.
- Asch ES, Bujak DI, Weiss M, Peterson MG, Weinstein A. Lyme disease: An infectious and postinfectious syndrome. J Rheumatol. 1994;21(3):454-461.
- Aucott JN, Rebman AW, Crowder LA, Kortte KB. Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome symptomatology and the impact on life functioning: Is there something here? Qual Life Res. 2013;22(1):75-84.
- Fallon BA, Nields JA. Lyme disease: A neuropsychiatric illness. Am J Psychiatry. 1994;151(11):1571-1583.
- Krupp LB, Hyman LG, Grimson R, et al. Study and treatment of post Lyme disease (STOP-LD): A randomized double-masked clinical trial. Neurology. 2003;60(12):1923-1930.
- Park M. Ocular manifestations of Lyme disease. J Am Optom Assoc. 1989;60(4):284-289.
- Kanjwal K, Karabin B, Kanjwal Y, Grubb BP. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome following Lyme disease. Cardiol J. 2011;18(1):63-66.
- Aucott JN. Posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2015;29(2):309-323.
- Klempner MS, Hu LT, Evans J, et al. Two controlled trials of antibiotic treatment in patients with persistent symptoms and a history of Lyme disease. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(2):85-92.
- Halperin JJ. Nervous System Lyme Disease—Facts and Fallacies. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2022;36(3):579-592.
- Fallon BA, Kuvaldina M, Zubcevik N, et al. Proposed research classification criteria for Lyme disease in infection associated chronic illness studies. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025;12:1519163.
Dr. Daniel Cameron, MD, MPH
Lyme disease clinician with over 30 years of experience and past president of ILADS.
Symptoms • Testing • Coinfections • Recovery • Pediatric • Prevention
My health has been failing since August 2013. Four months after a deer tick was dug out of the back of my neck. I have have had my thyroid removed due to tumors. Two parathyroid glands removed. I have seizures but the neurologist says he doesn’t know why. I feel my brain is being squeezed. My eyesight is getting worse. Brain fog, word find, memory loss, muscle pain and loss, bones hurt, I could go on. I had a Dr tell me I have Lyme disease and it’s wreaking havock on my immune system but he said I don’t know what to tell you…Go to New York. I’m a disabled 43 year old single mother of a ten year old that feels like I am a lot older some days. I live in Westford MA. Not one Dr will help me here. I have had positive ANA’S. My therapist thinks I have encephalitis.
It sounds as if different doctors are weighing in on your illness. It is often easier to find a doctor to look for other diseases but not for Lyme disease. Keep working on getting better.
My husband has a neuropathy from Lyme that affects his running gait so much that he cannot run any longer causing him great disappointment. I’ve been searching online for someone who might be able to offer hope for a treatment that might improve his gait. Can peripheral neuropathy from Lyme be treated or improved or reversed? He now tests negative for Lyme (after extended antibiotic treatment) after once testing positive. He never had the bullseye rash.
There are patients with Lyme disease with peripheral neuropathy who have improved. It can be difficult to know how far to go with Lyme disease and when to pursue other treatments.
I was diagnosed with Anaplasmosis and Lyme’s back in April. I never had the target and never saw the tick. I was diagnosed by symptoms and blood work. Anaplasmosis was confirmed first and Itook antibiotics for it. One Lyme’s was confirmed, I completed a round of antibiotics for it. The infectious disease doctor I saw at one of the best hospitals in Boston has assured me that the best evidence shows no chronic issues with Lyme’s treated in the primary stage. My ongoing symptoms include morning back pain, off and on neuropathy in the toes on my right foot (never had until Lyme’s), and the brain fog and increased challenge recalling words and names.
At least a third of patients treated early remain ill in published studies by leading medical centers.
Was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis with all autoimmune antibodies coming back negative. Symptoms of cognitive decline, muscle.twitches. behavior changes, catatonia and more, new mild atrophy on MRI after immune therapy was given. 25 years old avid outdoorsman and flea and tick exposure. Positive IGeneX. 4 out of 5 bands positive on labCorp.
Is it possible to have Lyme encephalitis misdiagnosed as autoimmune?
Many of the Lyme disease manifestations mimic autoimmune conditions. It can be challenging for the doctor to determine who has an autoimmune condition or tick borne illness.
What is the treatment for encephalopathy that accompanies Lyme disease? My daughter is having trouble doing her schoolwork after contracting Lyme disease this summer. She has taken doxycycline hclate 100 mg, twice a day for about one week now. Should we expect improvement over the next week?
There are different definitions of encephalopathy. Many children have problems with school work. It is likely too soon to tell. You could consider a neurologist to rule out other illnesses.
My 18 yr old daughter had 2 bulls eye rashes in 2013. Lab results 1 positive band & 1 indeterminate on Igenex IGG & IGM. Low CD57- Positive mycoplasma pneumonia Armin Labs. Has current Bartonella rash for 3 years. Got sudden onset OCD 2014 recovered almost completely in 2 months. April 2015 sudden onset OCD(extreme) with memory loss vomiting extreme anxiety (screaming). She has dizziness, no balance (trouble walking) light sound sensitivity, blurred vision. Trouble speaking (nonsense words phrases) Bladder and colon spasms (incontinent) Now tics (blowing, nonsense words she can’t stop) Extreme head pressure.She has been on oral antibiotics for 20 months doxycycline & minocycline. No doctor in Alberta will treat her. I am trying to find a neurologist , but the first one we went to said there was nothing wrong with her! We are extremely worried but she is too ill to travel to the US. Does this sound like autoimmune encephalitis PANS , or Lyme encephalitis?
Your daughter can by challenging to the medical system. There are cases of tick borne illness and PANS that can be that sick. Perhaps there is a treatment that has been overlooked. It is also important to rule out other illnesses.
My sister has major issues with encephalopathy. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t know what course of treatment to pursue because nothing seems to work, and she has major inflammation issues which manifest cognitive deficits and memory challenges (severe) along with motor dysfunction and mood shifts with the inflammation. She’s done antibiotics, herbals, supplements, but now just seems to get inflamed. I guess I’m writing in the hope that maybe you have a suggestion. She has worked with Horowitz’s peer Dr. Raxlen along with neurologists and a local llmd. I just don’t know what to do. She seems to get worse when we treat and worse when we don’t.
Thanks for sharing how challenging it can be. I would imagine you have also seen specialists to rule out other illnesses without an answer.
Do you guys have any personal experience of treating someone with Lyme that has gone to their eyes? My mother in law was diagnosed with Lyme in her eyes. We can’t find any information on it in eyes anywhere
There are some eye findings in patients with tick borne illnesses. I blogged on a review article https://danielcameronmd.com/eye-problems-tick-borne-diseases-lyme/ and https://danielcameronmd.com/growing-list-eye-problems-lyme-disease/
It is also important to rule out other common eye problems.
Yes, we have been to a number of neurologists, endocrinologists, lyme literate doctors and herbal specialists. She doesn’t have anything in the ALS, MS area. Her PET Scan was very abnormal, but that’s all we have to go on outside the positives on the different tick-borne infections. As far as auto-immune encephalitis, which we have been looking into, we’re looking for encephalitis of unknown/unspecified origin or anti-NMDA. I have been told that they are discovering new receptors like this, so ruling out just anti-NMDA would not remove the possibility of something auto-immune. Still, as we treat anything that is Lyme, Bartonella and Babesia specific, she has these neurological flares. And she’s had new symptoms after going after some of these infections. Just struggling to figure out what to do? Do you have any suggestions?
You have described the complexity of your illness despite comprehensive evaluations. I can’t help without an examination and even then it be difficult to determine the next step.
That makes sense. Perhaps we can make it up to New York for this in the future. Thank you, Dr. Cameron.
It’s unfortunate that doctors do not look at Lyme. They just don’t. I have taken my son to every top hospital in the U.S in the past 10 years and was told he had arthritis and UC. 2 muscle biopsies to find out why he couldn’t stand and so many tests. He has also had so many other diagnosis’s. Drs thought I was overprotective and my son was “functional”. Only when my son started having seizures and severe tremors and a positive Babinski sign did a doctor become concerned. But after an initial MS work up the doctor was concerned but couldn’t help. I took it a step further and had a SPECT scan done which showed that he had a traumatic Brain Injury. They said he looked like he went to war but a consult with a SPECT specialist said His scan looked viral throughout with hypoprofusion on the left. He looked like an 80 year old dementia patient. He recommended a dr who diagnosed him in 2 days. Had Lyme testing done by Lyme lab and showed positive for Babesia and indeterminate for Borrelia and positive for HHV6. It’s sad that we had these tests done before and nothing came up. cDC called me asking where he got Borrelia because it just didn’t show itself in Florida only in North east. Last time we were in Maryland was when he was 2 at a BBQ with so much deer in the area. He’s almost 18. It would explain a lot of the problems he was having at that time only to come out full blown after he had the flu when he was 8. I’m thankful we have him on medication but we all wonder if he will get better and if his brain will heal.
Hello, Dr. I’m wondering if oral doxycycline is appropriate to treat Lyme encephalitis with? We live in southeastern Pa near West Chester. My 10 year old daughter has had Lyme at least twice, now it seems a third time. First two times she had fever, headache, and multiple erythema migrans rashes- she was treated with 2 weeks amoxicillin the first time (2016), 3 weeks amoxicillin the second time ( fall 2017). One year later she began complaining of extreme fatigue, muscle soreness, dizziness, difficulty remembering things/concentrating, and occasionally fell to one side while walking, symptoms that were vague enough and slowly worsened so that I did not see doctor until March 2019. Dr. ran the standard CDC recommended 2 tier Lyme testing and said it lit up like a Christmas tree. He said because her IgM titers were very high along with IgGs that he thought it was a new case of Lyme vs continuation of old. He is treating her with oral Doxycycline 100mg 2x/day (she is 25 kg) for 4 weeks. She is at 2 weeks and has some improvement in the dizziness (80%) and fatigue (30%) and brain fog (60%), but her muscle soreness (all over body) is actually worse. I am hoping she will show more drastic improvement after 2 more weeks, but am concerned that she is not getting IV Ceftriaxone treatment when guidelines say that is first-line for encephalitis- seems that she is getting the treatment for the more standard arthritic picture of Lyme. On the other hand, some small studies show oral doxy to have efficacy for CNS symptoms as it does penetrate blood-brain barrier and saw it listed as a second line treatment on some British guidelines. What is your opinion? My doctor said if she doesn’t improve to send her to a rheumatologist and was scornful of idea of IV meds, saying “there is no evidence long term IV treatment helps Lyme patients” and if doxy doesn’t help, maybe it is rheumatological. A.I. Dupont children’s hospital website near me states flatly that there is no evidence of Chronic Lyme disease, so I am at a loss as to what to do next if she doesn’t fully respond after 2 more weeks of antibiotics. She does not present to others as terribly sick, as she is quite a trooper and will push herself through the school day, but collapses upon getting home and is unable to participate in her old activities. She used to love to run like the wind across the golf course and now lays on the couch asking me to massage her sore muscles and didn’t even want to get up on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought.
Hello, Dr. I just sent a message regarding my 10 year old daughter with Lyme. I forgot to mention a couple other symptoms- sometimes she would fall to one side when walking, saying “it feels like one side of my body is heavier than the other”. Also has insomnia (falls asleep ok, but wakes up for hours during night) and irritability. Since starting the doxycycline, she has also had some urinary incontinence (twice during the day she has peed her pants and once at night) – side effect of doxy or part of Lyme?
I have to evaluate each symptom to rule out another condition.
Your doctor are taking only on view of the evidence. You should seek a second opinion and make sure you she does not suffer from another illness.
hola , tengo un niño de 15 años que presenta muchos síntomas que nos hace pensar que podría tener alguna enfermedad viral o transmitida por garrapatas, alguno de los síntomas son: mucha fatiga, duerme mucho en destiempo, ansiedad , por la noche no puede dormir, dolos muscular y de espalda, perdida de peso, nauseas, cambios de humor, conductas agresivas, dolor de estomago, se le comienza a caer el cabello. el niño se ha expuesto a estar cerca de perros en una ocasión nos infestamos de garrapatas, pulgas y nos picaron, es amante de los gatos también suela agarrarlos mucho , besarlos y tenemos problemas con sus pelos del gato. el niño se esta tratando con una psicóloga por su conducta pero que también tiene la especialidad a checar y dar terapias neurológicas y ella nos a dicho que trae muchos síntomas de Encefalitis viral. estoy muy preocupada por mi hijo y me he puesto a investigar . mi pregunta es ¿Qué estudios de laboratorio le puede hacer para saber si es viral o qué es lo que tiene?, ¿Qué estudios neurológicos?
Per Google translation – Hello, I have a 15-year-old boy who has many symptoms that make us think that he could have some viral or tick-borne disease, some of the symptoms are: a lot of fatigue, he sleeps a lot at the wrong time, anxiety, he can’t sleep at night, muscle and back pain, weight loss, nausea, mood swings, aggressive behavior, stomach pain, hair loss. the boy has been exposed to being around dogs on one occasion we were infested with ticks, fleas and they bit us, he is a cat lover, he also usually grabs them a lot, kisses them and we have problems with his cat hairs. The boy is being treated with a psychologist for his behavior but who also has the specialty of checking and giving neurological therapies and she has told us that he has many symptoms of viral encephalitis. I am very worried about my son and I have begun to investigate. My question is, what laboratory studies can you do to find out if it is viral or what is it? What neurological studies?
I have patients in my practice with similar symptoms. I have had to rely on other specialists including neurologists to rule out other causes. I advise my patients to work with a doctor familiar with Lyme and tick borne diseases to determine what tests are appropriate.