Click here to stream the public defence
Due to copyright issues, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. For the faculty to have time to process the order, the order must be received by the faculty at the latest 2 days before the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. After the public defence, please address any inquiries regarding the thesis to the candidate.
Trial Lecture – time and place
See Trial Lecture.
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor of Neurology, Head of institute of Clinical Medicine, Pille Taba, University of Tartu, Estonia
- Second opponent: Associate Professor Arne Gramstad, University of Bergen, Norway
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate Professor Dag Henrik Reikvam, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor Ole Morten Rønning, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
PhD Randi Eikeland, Sørlandet sykehus HF
Summary
Borreliosis is the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern hemisphere. Left untreated, the infection can spread from a local infection in the skin to the nervous system causing neuroborreliosis. Although neuroborreliosis is effectively treated with antibiotics, persistent symptoms like fatigue and cognitive complaints have been reported. The prevalence and severity of cognitive problems after treated neuroborreliosis has caused debate among researchers, clinicians and patients for years.
The overall theme of this thesis was to find out if patients with neuroborreliosis have more cognitive problems. We used neuropsychological tests and assessed the patients in the acute phase, at six and twelve months after treatment. We also investigated possible associations between cognitive function and structural brain changes, and compared the results with a control group.
We did not find reduced cognitive function in patients with neuroborreliosis, and no alterations in the brain. Patients with acute neuroborreliosis did have an elevated level of fatigue, but the level of fatigue declined during the follow-up. Overall, the results indicate a favorable prognosis for patients with well-treated neuroborreliosis.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.