Neurosyphilis: A rare cause of encephalitis in a young male

Acute neurosyphilis is a rare but easily treatable cause of subacute confusion. Its clinical presentation is varied, with reported phenotypes ranging from acute stroke-like presentations to psychosis, dementia and meningoencephalitis. Neurosyphilis is easily detectable and treatable, despite its cli...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: William Cunningham, Michael Keogh, Nirmalan Arulanantham
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Clinical Medicine
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211825000302
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Summary:Acute neurosyphilis is a rare but easily treatable cause of subacute confusion. Its clinical presentation is varied, with reported phenotypes ranging from acute stroke-like presentations to psychosis, dementia and meningoencephalitis. Neurosyphilis is easily detectable and treatable, despite its clinical heterogeneity. We present a 45-year-old man without HIV presenting with a subacute encephalitis, with cerebrospinal fluid and blood markers strongly positive for syphilis, with clinical improvement following 2 weeks of empirical intravenous antibiotic therapy.
ISSN:1470-2118