Tick-bite meningoradiculoneuritis: clinical, electrophysiologic, and histologic findings in 10 cases

We studied 10 adults with meningoradiculitis several weeks after a tick bite (Ixodes). EMG evidence of denervation was associated with normal motor conduction velocities, prolongation of distal latencies, and low sensory amplitudes, suggesting axonal neuropathy. Sural nerve biopsies confirmed the axonal involvement. Infiltrations of lymphocytes and plasma cells, sometimes forming thick pericapillary cuffs with no accompanying necrosis of vessel walls, were numerous. Many capillaries of the endoneurium, perineurium, and epineurium were affected in this way.