neurosyphilis
Sign in to saveAlso known as demencia paralítica, Parálisis general de los dementes, Gpi
Neurosyphilis is the infection of the central nervous system by Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. In the era of modern antibiotics, the majority of neurosyphilis cases have been reported in HIV-infected patients.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).image
- Skull damage from neurosyphilis.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Section of human skull damaged by late stages of neurosyphilis
- Medical condition (new).specialty
- Neurology, infectious diseases
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Headache, stiff neck, paresthesia, loss of bladder control, personality and mood changes
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Treponema pallidum
- Medical condition (new).risks
- HIV infection, unprotected sex
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Antibiotics (penicillin G or ceftriaxone)
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
5,167 papers- State-of-the-Art Review: Neurosyphilis.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024
- Neurosyphilis.Brain : a journal of neurology · 2025
- Neurosyphilis.Continuum (Minneapolis, Minn.) · 2021
- Neurosyphilis.The New England journal of medicine · 2019
- Neurosyphilis.Annals of neurology · 2025
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- sexually transmitted infection
- Image
- Tabes Dorsalis.jpg
Show 3 more facts
- health specialty
- infectious diseases
- Commons category
- Paralytic dementia
- studied by
- dermatology
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Early and intermediate neurosyphilis
- Late neurosyphilis
- Ocular syphilis and otosyphilis
- Risk factors
- Pathophysiology
- Diagnosis
- Treatment
- Complications
- History
- References
Neurosyphilis is the infection of the central nervous system by Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. In the era of modern antibiotics, the majority of neurosyphilis cases have been reported in HIV-infected patients.
Neurosyphilis may present a variety of symptoms that depend on the affected structure of the central nervous system. While early neurosyphilis is often asymptomatic, meningitis is the most common neurological presentation of the early stage. Late neurosyphilis typically involves the brain and spinal cord parenchyma, manifesting as tabes dorsalis and general paresis. Tertiary syphilis can involve several different organ systems, though neurosyphilis may occur at any stage of infection.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “neurosyphilis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.