Neurosyphilis Is a Long-forgotten Disease but Still a Possible Etiology for Dementia
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Kentaro Deguchi; Fumio Otsuka; Kiyohiro Kawada; Hideharu Hagiya
- Source
- Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan). 54(21)
- Subject
- Adult
Male
Pediatrics
medicine.medical_specialty
Disease
Serology
Neurosyphilis
Internal Medicine
Medicine
Dementia
Humans
Treponema pallidum
Treponema
biology
business.industry
Incidence (epidemiology)
Incidence
Mental Disorders
Ceftriaxone
Penicillin G
General Medicine
Hemagglutination Tests
medicine.disease
biology.organism_classification
Antibodies, Bacterial
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Immunology
Etiology
Syphilis
business
Cognition Disorders
- Language
- ISSN
- 1349-7235
We herein report a heterosexual Japanese man in his forties who had been suffering from advanced dementia and personality change for 4 years. Positive results of a serological test for syphilis, Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay, and fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption test of both serum and cerebral spinal fluid led to the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction was seen shortly after the first dose of penicillin was administered to the patient. His cognitive function did not recover after treatment. The incidence of syphilis has been reported to be increasing. Neurosyphilis should not be overlooked as an etiology for progressive dementia even in this post-antibiotic era.