The Progression of Syphilis to Neuro-Syphilis
Abstract
Syphilis is a viral infection that causes three recognized stages of disease. The spread of the virus throughout various locations in the body has associated with it a variety of symptoms and complications that are determined by the course it takes. The virus sometimes affects the central nervous system and, when it does, there is a possibility that a condition known as neurosyphilis will develop. Neurosyphilis is a collection of maladies that result from compromised function of the nervous system, detected by testing the cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment strategies must be altered to accommodate the specific obstacles associated with this variation of the disease. Neurosyphilis can be avoided with early treatment of the patient using one or more of the appropriate antibiotics.
The Progression of Syphilis to Neuro-Syphilis
Here is a viral infection that has confounded medical professionals consistently over the course of its history.
English: This photograph shows a close-up view of ...
English: Micrograph showing Treponema pallidum the...
Histopathology of Treponema pallidum spirochetes u...It is transmitted in predictable ways, but the development of the disease is very difficult to predict. The virus travels throughout the body, doing its damage, and the many symptoms that occur are indicative of the course it has taken on its path of destruction. The symptoms can be subtle at times, so the problem often goes unnoticed. There are latent stages during which the disease causes no visible symptoms at all, but the injury inflicted upon a patient's internal organs continues(Oriel, 1994). Syphilis is complicated and ruthless.
This is an investigation into the characteristics of syphilis and, particularly, the progression of the disease into the condition known as neurosyphilis. The first section of this report will give an overview of the epidemic, discussing its three stages, history and pathophysiology, diagnostic procedures and treatment. The last section of the report is reserved for a discussion of one case in...