Bujak, D I, Weinstein, A, Dornbush, R L · The Journal of rheumatology · 1996
This study looked at people who had Lyme disease and continued to have fatigue, joint pain, and memory problems even after antibiotic treatment. Researchers compared 23 of these patients to 23 people who recovered fully from Lyme disease. The group with ongoing symptoms performed worse on memory and concentration tests, reported more sleep and mood problems, and showed signs of greater emotional distress.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS research because it documents persistent neurocognitive impairment following a documented infectious trigger (Lyme disease) despite standard treatment—a pattern that mirrors post-infectious ME/CFS. The finding that objective cognitive deficits accompany subjective complaints validates patient-reported cognitive dysfunction and supports the biological basis of post-infectious fatigue syndromes.
This study does not prove that all ME/CFS cases originate from Lyme disease or respond similarly to Lyme-specific mechanisms. It cannot establish causation for the cognitive deficits or determine whether they result from persistent infection, immune dysfunction, or other post-infectious processes. The study's cross-sectional design cannot characterize whether neurocognitive deficits improve, stabilize, or worsen over time.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Bujak, D I, Weinstein, A, & Dornbush, R L (1996). Clinical and neurocognitive features of the post Lyme syndrome.. The Journal of rheumatology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8856619/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-bujak-1996-clinical-neurocognitive,
author = {Bujak, D I and Weinstein, A and Dornbush, R L},
title = {Clinical and neurocognitive features of the post Lyme syndrome.},
journal = {The Journal of rheumatology},
year = {1996},
note = {PubMed: 8856619},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bujak-1996-clinical-neurocognitive},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/bujak-1996-clinical-neurocognitive
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