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Forty patients (34 males and 6 females) with neurological complaints/manifestations and with a past history of multiple sexual partners attending the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, India between April 1992 and October 1992 were investigated for neurosyphilis. Metabolic disorders, hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, arrhythmias and trauma were excluded. Seven males (17.5%) were found to have neurosyphilis. The youngest was 26 years old and the oldest was 47. All were married and of low socioeconomic background. Meningovascular syphilis was the predominant presentation (6:1). Associated cardiovascular involvement was noticed in one of the cases. There was no associated HIV infection in these cases. The incidence is higher than previous reports from this centre.
Int J STD AIDS
PMID:Prevalence of neurosyphilis at Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, India. 794 62

Treatment regimens for sexually transmitted infections continue to evolve. The natural history of syphilis in HIV-infected patients is leading to more aggressive policies in terms of both investigation and treatment. In particular, treatment protocols for late syphilis, especially neurosyphilis, are under scrutiny. Epidemiological change typified by the spread of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) has led to a search for new agents to treat gonorrhoea, with a more extensive use of cephalosporin and quinolone antibiotics emerging. The problem of compliance with the antibiotic courses presently required for chlamydial infection may be close to being solved with the development of newer macrolide agents. Single dose azithromycin, although expensive, seems to be as effective as longer courses with other agents. Furthermore, its efficacy in gonococcal infection is also encouraging. Increased understanding of the pathogenesis and natural history of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and bacterial vaginosis (BV) has led to rationalization of treatment policies for these conditions.
Int J STD AIDS
PMID:Antibiotic chemotherapy of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases in adults: a review. 806 Oct 86

Syphilis has become less common in Europe in the last decade, but has once again become a major problem in the USA, and remains so in many developing countries. Several treponemal genes have now been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, allowing study of treponemal proteins. The importance of cell mediated immunity in syphilis has been demonstrated in animal models. A diagnosis of syphilis is usually confirmed by dark-field microscopy or serological tests. Seroconversion may be delayed in HIV infected individuals. A positive reaginic test in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has a high specificity but low sensitivity in the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. Indeed, virulent treponemes can be identified in CSF samples which have negative reaginic tests, normal cell counts and protein levels. In the CSF, the FTA-Abs test has a high sensitivity but low specificity for neurosyphilis. Penicillin remains the treatment of choice for all stages of syphilis, although it penetrates the blood brain barrier poorly. Treatment with intramuscular benzathine penicillin 2.4 million units stat, or 600,000 units procaine penicillin daily does not produce treponemicidal levels within the CSF. However, the incidence of neurosyphilis is low in immunocompetent patients treated with such regimens during early syphilis. Acceptable alternatives in penicillin-allergic patients include ceftriaxone and doxycycline. Erythromycin is not recommended as it has produced unacceptably high rates of treatment failure. Recently, a strain of macrolide-resistant Treponema pallidum was isolated from a patient with secondary syphilis. For the treatment of neurosyphilis, treponemicidal levels of penicillin can be achieved in the CSF using 2.4 million units procaine penicillin daily with concurrent probenecid 500 mg 4 times a day, or an intravenous infusion of benzyl penicillin 12-24 million units daily. Early syphilis can be treated adequately over 10 days, but 21 to 28 days is appropriate for late syphilis. In HIV-infected patients syphilis may present atypically with initially negative serological tests. Treatment of early syphilis in HIV-positive patients has been associated with the early development of neurosyphilis. It is advisable to treat all patients co-infected with HIV with an antibiotic regimen that achieves adequate levels within the CSF.
Int J STD AIDS
PMID:A review and update on adult syphilis, with particular reference to its treatment. 847 69

A retrospective study of 767 HIV positive patients from a large urban public hospital, 238 of whom were co-infected with syphilis, was performed to determine the prevalence of neurosyphilis. A prevalence of 3% of neurosyphilis in the co-infected cohort was demonstrated. The 7 cases of neurosyphilis ascertained were of the early stage variety, with cranial nerve involvement the predominant focal deficit. Of the 5 cases presenting after initial diagnosis and treatment of syphilis, 4 were felt to be inadequately treated. An overall prevalence of 1% (7/767) was determined for the entire HIV(+) cohort. The majority of the cases of syphilis (90%) were characterized as latent syphilis. Based on these findings, the authors recommend routine CSF examination in all patients who are HIV positive and who present with latent syphilis. Treatment regimens should be maximized in an effort to reduce the prevalence of neurosyphilis in such a co-infected cohort.
Int J STD AIDS
PMID:Determining the prevalence of neurosyphilis in a cohort co-infected with HIV. 847 73

The efficacy of oral azithromycin (500 mg daily for 10 days or 500 mg on alternate days for 11 days) in 100 patients with seropositive syphilis was studied. Clinical manifestations regressed more rapidly in azithromycin-treated patients compared with patients who received erythromycin or penicillin, and there was also a more rapid reduction in serum antibody levels. In 90.3% of patients, the complete resolution of classic serological tests was observed within 4 months of completion of the azithromycin treatment. The immobilization (TPI) test and absorbed fluorescent treponema antibody tests became negative 12 months after treatment in 40% of patients. After 4 years of follow-up, no symptoms of neurosyphilis or syphilitic changes of visceral organs were observed.
Int J STD AIDS 1996
PMID:Treatment of syphilis with azithromycin. 865 20

To determine if positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) can accurately distinguish between malignant and infectious central nervous system (CNS) mass lesions in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, a prospective case series of 18 patients with HIV infection and focal CNS lesions on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) scans was analysed. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on biopsy results, serology and response to therapy. Group 1 consisted of 8 patients with infectious lesions (4 with toxoplasmosis, 2 with neurosyphilis, 2 with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)). Group 2 consisted of 5 patients with biopsy proven CNS lymphoma. Group 3 consisted of 5 patients with presumed CNS lymphoma. Patients underwent FDG-PET studies as an adjunctive diagnostic procedure. The metabolic activity of each patient's lesion was graded using both a qualitative visual score and a semi-quantitative count ratio comparing the lesion with contralateral brain. CNS lesions diagnosed as lymphomas had statistically higher visual scores (P = 0.001) and count ratios (P = 0.002) than CNS lesions diagnosed as infections. FDG-PET could accurately differentiate lymphoma from infections in 16 of 18 cases. Two cases of PML had high metabolic activity and could not be differentiated from lymphoma. FDG-PET shows great promise in differentiating lymphoma from infectious lesions in the CNS of patients with HIV infection. If larger prospective studies confirm this impression, more specific and rapid treatment of CNS lesions could be performed and perhaps obviate the need for brain biopsy in many cases.
Int J STD AIDS
PMID:Differentiation of central nervous system lesions in AIDS patients using positron emission tomography (PET). 889 23

Our objective is to assess the specificity and sensitivity, and thus elaborate the relevance, of different laboratory findings for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. One hundred and fourteen HIV-negative pairs of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were examined by the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, a fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) test, microhaemagglutination assay with Treponema pallidum antigen (MHA-TP) test (serum) and Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA) test (CSF); further, albumin, total protein, and total IgG were determined and, in the CSF, cell count was performed. The donors were 60 patients with active neurosyphilis and 54 healthy persons with a former history of syphilis and with persisting positive results in the T. pallidum haemagglutination tests (serum: MHA-TP, CSF: TPHA), who supplied specimens for control. Albumin quotient, IgG index, TPHA index, modified TPHA index, Intrathecally produced T. pallidum Antigen (ITpA) index, its 2 modifications and, in 12 samples, the adenovirus group antibody (AVGA)/TPHA index were ascertained. The specificity and sensitivity of the TPHA index were 100% and 98.3%, of the modified TPHA index 50.0% and 96.7%, of the ITpA index 42.6% and 90.0%, of the modified ITpA indices 51.8% and 68.3% (first modification) and 53.7% and 63.3% (second modification). The AVGA/TPHA index yielded a specificity of 91.7% (11/12). The CSF VDRL test was positive in 55/60 (91.7%) of samples from patients with neurosyphilis and in none of the controls (0/54). A CSF-TPHA titre greater than 1:320 was observed in 59/60 (98.3%) of the neurosyphilis specimens and in none of the controls (0/54). A TPHA index above an outcome of 70, a positive CSF-TPHA test at a titre greater than 1:320 and, with lower sensitivity, the criteria of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines yield the most reliable results for laboratory support to a diagnosis of neurosyphilis. The modified TPHA index, the ITpA index, and its 2 modifications produce results of minor sensitivity and poor specificity. Observations on the AVGA/THPA index are too limited yet for judgement. The diagnostic significance of a CSF-TPHA titre above 320 needs further confirmation on a greater number of observations made by different laboratories.
Int J STD AIDS 2000 Apr
PMID:Significance of laboratory findings for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. 1077 85

Co-existing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can alter the course and presentation of syphilis. Severe ocular manifestations and accelerated natural course of syphilis along with neurosyphilis may be associated with HIV infection. A 30-year-old man is described in whom syphilitic panuveitis and asymptomatic neurosyphilis served as a marker for HIV infection.
Int J STD AIDS 2001 Nov
PMID:Syphilitic panuveitis and asymptomatic neurosyphilis: a marker of HIV infection. 1158 18

The objective of this prospective pilot study was to evaluate the response of HIV-infected patients with asymptomatic syphilis to one of two intensive antibiotic treatment regimens. Thirty-one HIV-infected patients with serum rapid plasma reagin titre > or =1:4 and no clinical findings of syphilis were randomized to receive daily intramuscular injections of ceftriaxone or procaine penicillin (plus oral probenecid) for 15 days; 24 returned for follow-up study. Seven of 10 (70%) procaine penicillin-treated patients and 10 of 14 (71%) ceftriaxone-treated patients had a > or =4-fold decline in RPR (P=0.94); two penicillin-treated and one ceftriaxone-treated patient relapsed. Two patients failed ceftriaxone therapy. Three penicillin-treated, and two ceftriaxone-treated patients were serofast. Serological responses were similar in those patients with and without asymptomatic neurosyphilis. There was no difference in the serologic response to daily treatment with ceftriaxone vs that with procaine penicillin plus probenecid; both treatments were associated with comparatively high rates of serological non-response and relapse.
Int J STD AIDS 2004 May
PMID:Response of HIV-infected patients with asymptomatic syphilis to intensive intramuscular therapy with ceftriaxone or procaine penicillin. 1511 3

A rare episode of early neurosyphilis occurred in a 34-year-old, otherwise healthy, woman. Based on an isolated positive Borrelia burgdorferi serology (later interpreted as a cross-reaction), early ceftriaxone was initiated, in the suspect of Lyme borreliosis. Even after the diagnosis was corrected into that of a neurosyphilis, ceftriaxone administration was continued, until it achieved complete clinical and microbiological success after 24 days of treatment in a day-hospital setting, and three-weekly penicillin administrations. When considering the differential diagnosis, a luetic aetiology should not be underestimated when facing young patients with signs-symptoms of a meningoencephalitis. Our case report was characterized by an extremely low patient's age, compared with the occurrence of tertiary neurosyphilis, more than three years after the last sexual contacts. The diagnosis was confirmed by highly positive treponemal and non-treponemal serum and cerebrospinal fluid serology, and several suggestive clinical manifestations: seizures, altered mentation, cognitive impairment, lip drop, and anisochoria. These concomitant findings, together with a neuroradiological report indicating a diffuse meningoencephalitis, allowed us to confirm the diagnosis of neurosyphilis, together with a demonstrated cross-reaction of B. burgdorferi serology. Although ceftriaxone benefits from its once-daily administration (and can be easily delivered on outpatient basis), it is not the firstline treatment of neurosyphilis. However, our experience demonstrated a favourable and rapid response to ceftriaxone, in the absence of toxicity and disease sequelae.
Int J STD AIDS 2005 Dec
PMID:Neurosyphilis in a young adult: very early tertiary syphilis? 1633 71


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