Frontotemporal Dementia Misdiagnosed for Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome or vice versa? A Treviso Dementia (TREDEM) Registry Case Report

Abstract

We describe the case of a 61-year-old woman diagnosed with Borreliosis at the age of 57. Subsequently, the patient developed depression, anxiety, and behavioral disturbances. A lumbar puncture excluded the condition of Neuroborreliosis. The diagnostic workup included: an MRI scan, a ¹⁸F-FDG PET, a ¹²³I-ioflupane-SPECT, an amyloid-β PET, a specific genetic analysis, and a neuropsychological evaluation. Based on our investigation, the patient was diagnosed with probable behavioral-frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), whereas in the previous years, the patient had been considered firstly as a case of Post-Treatment-Lyme Disease and, secondly, a psychiatric patient. We believe that, in the present case, such initial symptoms of Borrelia infection may have superimposed on those of bvFTD rather than playing as a contributory cause.