Revisiting an old foe: The face of psychosis in neurosyphilis

Moolla, Yusuf; Abdul, J

doi:10.7196/samj.2016.v106.i12.11446

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…Thus, the vascular accidents of neurosyphilis observed here correspond to the known clinical and neuroradiological characteristics of this condition. Nevertheless, it should be noted that severe forms exist because of the presence of other manifestations of this disease which create a context of encephalopathy, in particular personality and behavioral disorders, a pseudo-depressive syndrome, Argyl-Robertson sign, sphincter disorders and pseudo-parkinsonian facies as noted by several authors [ 18 , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ischemic strokes revealing neurosyphilis: Study of six (6) observations at the neurology Department of the University Hospital of Conakry

et al. 2023

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ischemic strokes revealing neurosyphilis: Study of six (6) observations at the neurology Department of the University Hospital of Conakry

et al. 2023

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“…Neurological involvement may present in both the early and late stages of the disease. 10 Most patients diagnosed with otosyphylis are usually coinfected with HIV. 11 Otosyphyllis in a HIV-negative patient is thought to be rare, and there are limited recent available data on this subject.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Otosyphilis: A rare cause of acute bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in a HIV-negative patient

Sothmann

Adam

Davis

et al. 2022

South African Journal of Radiology

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Bilateral acute hearing loss is rare, and the aetiology is poorly defined. Less common treatable pathologies such as otosyphilis must be part of the differential diagnosis and should be actively excluded. We present a case of a 23-year-old woman who developed acute bilateral hearing loss due to otosyphilis, confirmed on audiometry and laboratory tests. In this article, the CT, MRI and clinical findings are presented and discussed.

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“…In another case, Moolla and Abdul described a case of a 52-year-old male who was brought into the hospital by police and held involuntarily [ 26 ]. His symptoms included aggression toward his family, and collateral information collected from the family indicated a sudden change in his personality and blunted emotional response over the past few weeks.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further testing allowed an appropriate diagnosis of neurosyphilis to be made. Treatment with penicillin led to complete resolution of symptoms and the patient was discharged [ 26 ]. This again makes it evident that even in cases of psychosis, timely treatment with penicillin following a correct diagnosis can lead to a complete reversal of clinical symptoms.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Narrative Review of the Many Psychiatric Manifestations of Neurosyphilis: The Great Imitator

Kaur,

Khanna

2023

Cureus

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Neurosyphilis is an infection of the central nervous system caused by the spirochete, Treponema pallidum . New syphilis infections have been increasing around the world each year. This disease was much of a concern in the pre-penicillin era, where when left untreated many cases progressed to tertiary syphilis which can commonly manifest as neurosyphilis. Of particular interest, neurosyphilis has been linked to masquerading itself as various psychiatric conditions. This narrative review focuses on exploring psychiatric manifestations of neurosyphilis as well as the importance of screening in psychiatric settings and clinicians maintaining high clinical suspicion of the disease. A systematic search was conducted for published articles from 2003 to 2023 using PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar. A total of 66 articles met the criteria and were used for detailed analysis, where psychiatric manifestations and clinical progression of patients were discussed in detail. Psychiatric manifestations that were explored include dementia, delirium, depression, mania, personality changes, and psychosis. One of the most common manifestations of neurosyphilis appears to be severe neurocognitive impairment. There are also rare psychiatric conditions neurosyphilis mimics that have been described in literature such as Capgras syndrome and Geschwind syndrome. A narrative review of the literature revealed a low level of clinical awareness of neurosyphilis as a possible etiology of various psychiatric disorders. This resulted in delayed or inaccurate diagnosis and consequently delayed initiation of adequate treatment. Considering that many psychiatric manifestations of neurosyphilis are reversible with proper treatment, it is imperative to implement routine screening for syphilis among psychiatric patients.

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Revisiting an old foe: The face of psychosis in neurosyphilis

Abstract: A delusional, agitated middle-aged man presented to hospital with a tenacious psychotic episode. Upon appropriate therapy for neurosyphilis, dramatic resolution of this brief episode ensued, prompting a literature review of psychosis associated with neurosyphilis.

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

Ischemic strokes revealing neurosyphilis: Study of six (6) observations at the neurology Department of the University Hospital of Conakry

Ischemic strokes revealing neurosyphilis: Study of six (6) observations at the neurology Department of the University Hospital of Conakry

Otosyphilis: A rare cause of acute bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in a HIV-negative patient

A Narrative Review of the Many Psychiatric Manifestations of Neurosyphilis: The Great Imitator

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