What is neurosyphilis?
neurosyphilis is a very serious infection that affects the brain and can also affect the spinal cord. It develops when a person has syphilis who is not treated for years after the initial infection. In fact, one can have syphilis for 10 to 20 years before neurosypilis develops. The condition is life -threatening, but it does not affect anyone who is diagnosed with syphilis.
There are four types of neurosyphalis: asymptomatic, meningovascular, tabes dorsalis and general pases. There are no recognizable symptoms in an asymptomatic type. However, the affected person will have signs of the disease in his spinal cord. The meningovascular form causes symptoms that include nerve and eye problems. Also, a person with this condition may have an increased risk of stroke as blood vessels can be damaged. Finally, the affected person loses their ability to walk. General paresis is characterized by damage to brain cells, which can cause paralysis and seizures and deteriorating mental state. With this condition, parts of the brain and spinal cord may, causing a wide range of neurological problems.
In addition to paralysis and seizures, general paresis can cause tremor, headaches, mood and personality changes, muscle and stroke. This can also lead to vision problems, vertigo, depression, incontinence and dementia. A person with this type of neurosyphalis may have abnormal muscle contractions and even muscle atrophy.
Blood tests are used to diagnose syphilis. These tests are looking for substances that are created by bacteria that cause disease. However, neurosyphilis must be tested by the patient's spinal cord. In addition, lumbar puncture, CT scanning, MRI and brain angiograms affect the nervous system.
Treatment usually includes penicillin, antibiotic. For one treatment plan, the patient receives penicillin injections into the vein of the first 10 days. Then another form of antibiotics can be injected into the muscle for another three weeks. DThe treatment plan includes the use of antibiotics orally four times a day, while at the same time they undergo a total of 10 days. Then another form of antibiotics would be injected into a total of three weeks.
recovery from neurosyphilis depends on how soon it occurs and how serious it is when treatment begins. Subsequent tests are necessary in three, six, 12 and 24 months after treatment. These tests are necessary to ensure that the disease is really gone. When neurosypilis is not treated, it can lead to death.