[Clinical contribution to the knowledge of Lyme disease. Case reports]

Lyme disease (LD) is a well-recognized multi-system disorder, caused by the spirochaeta Borrelia burgdorferi. It involves the skin, nervous system, joints and heart. Our group reported the first case of Lyme Borreliosis in Italy in 1985. Italian Group for Lyme Borreliosis has recently reported the epidemiology of Lyme disease in Italy. The epidemiological data seem to underestimate the prevalence of Lyme arthritis in Italy. The pattern of articular involvement is most often mono- or oligoarthritis with polyarticular arthralgias and frequently needs laboratory confirmation. In this study, some clinical observations of Lyme Borreliosis occurred in the last year are reported. Analysis of the B. burgdorferi immune response by ELISA and Western Blot techniques has the potential to support or exclude a diagnosis of early stage as well as active LD infection was associated with Polymerase Chain Reaction assay based on amplification of the DNA of B. burgdorferi. When the direct evidence of spirochaeta in tissues is lacking, this approach permits the best evaluation of Lyme borreliosis.