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Neurosyphilis is the infection of the central nervous system in a patient with syphilis. In the era of modern antibiotics , the majority of neurosyphilis cases have been reported in HIV-infected patients.
Meningeal syphilis (as known as syphilitic aseptic meningitis or meningeal neurosyphilis) is a chronic form of syphilis infection that affects the central nervous system. Treponema pallidum , a spirochate bacterium, is the main cause of syphilis, which spreads drastically throughout the body and can infect all its systems if not treated ...
Tabes dorsalis is a late consequence of neurosyphilis, characterized by the slow degeneration (specifically, demyelination) of the neural tracts primarily in the dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord (nerve root). These patients have lancinating nerve root pain which is aggravated by coughing, and features of sensory ataxia with ocular ...
Syphilis (/ ˈ s ɪ f ə l ɪ s /) is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. [1] The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent or tertiary.
The fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test is a diagnostic test for syphilis.Using antibodies specific for the Treponema pallidum species, such tests would be assumed to be more specific than non-treponemal testing such as VDRL but have been shown repeatedly to be sensitive but not specific for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
General paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane (GPI), paralytic dementia, or syphilitic paresis is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder, classified as an organic mental disorder, and is caused by late-stage syphilis and the chronic meningoencephalitis and cerebral atrophy that are associated with this late stage of the disease when left untreated.
Pleocytosis, raised CSF protein level and positive CSF serology suggest neurosyphilis. [31] CSF VDRL is 50-90% specific for neurosyphilis. [18] 60% of newborns with congenital syphilis also have neurosyphilis. [18] Non-treponemal titers should be monitored in the newborns every 2-3 months to ensure an adequate response to treatment. [18]
The history of syphilis has been well studied, but the exact origin of the disease remains unknown. [3] It appears to have originated in both Africa and America. [4] [5] As such, there are two primary hypotheses: one proposes that syphilis was carried to Europe from the Americas by the crew(s) of Christopher Columbus as a byproduct of the Columbian exchange, while the other proposes that ...