| Meningeal syphilis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Treponema pallidum 01 | |
| Specialty | Infectious diseases  |
Meningeal syphilis (as known as syphilitic aseptic meningitis or meningeal neurosyphilis) is a chronic form of syphilis infection that affects the central nervous system. Treponema pallidum, a spirochate bacterium, is the main cause of syphilis, which spreads drastically throughout the body and can infect all its systems if not treated appropriately. Treponema pallidum is the main cause of the onset of meningeal syphilis and other treponemal diseases, and it consists of a cytoplasmic and outer membrane that can cause a diverse array of diseases in the central nervous system and brain.[1]
Early symptomatic neurosyphilis (or acute syphilitic meningitis or neurorecurrence) is the onset of meningeal syphilis. The symptoms arise as a result of inflamed meninges, which eventually lead up to signs of meningitis.[2]
Treponema pallidum invades the nervous system within three to eighteen months after the primary infection. The initial series of events is asymptomatic meningitis, which can remain in the human body system and produce more damage within the body.[3] Every form of neurosyphilis has meningitis as a component; however, every case differs in severity. The individual is infected with syphilis through a gram negative bacteria that only humans can obtain. Syphilis has four stages of infection, which are primary, secondary, latent, and tertiary. If syphilis is not treated, the disease can affect various other systems in the body, including the brain, heart, and vessels. The infection of the heart and vessels leads to meningovascular syphilis, which is usually presented during the secondary stage of syphilis. If syphilis is prolonged, it can affect the nervous system, which is known as neurosyphilis.[4] Meningeal syphilis is a component of neurosyphilis, which usually occurs in the tertiary stage of syphilis.
- ^ Ghanem KG (October 2010). "REVIEW: Neurosyphilis: A historical perspective and review". CNS Neurosci Ther. 16 (5): e157–68. doi:10.1111/j.1755-5949.2010.00183.x. PMC 6493817. PMID 20626434.
- ^ Seeley WW, Venna N (May 2004). "Neurosyphilis presenting with gummatous oculomotor nerve palsy". J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry. 75 (5): 789. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2003.025932. PMC 1763572. PMID 15090587.
- ^ Sutton, K (2013). "Risk Factors". Neil S. Skolnik Amy Lynn Clouse. 17.
- ^ Lanska MJ, Lanska DJ, Schmidley JW (August 1988). "Syphilitic polyradiculopathy in an HIV-positive man". Neurology. 38 (8): 1297–301. doi:10.1212/wnl.38.8.1297. PMID 2840606. S2CID 20028978.