Psychiatric Manifestations as Primary Symptom of Neurosyphilis Among HIV-Negative Patients

Abstract

This study characterizes psychiatric manifestations as a primary symptom of neurosyphilis (NS). Fifty-two of the 169 NS patients presented with psychiatric manifestations, many patients had characteristics of more than one syndrome, including cognitive impairment, personality disorders, delirium, hostility, dysarthria, confusion, disruption of their sleep-wake cycle, fecal and urinary incontinence, dysphoria, paranoia, hallucinations, expansive mood, and mania. Fifty-two patients had positive sera RPR and T. pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA), 75% had positive CSF RPR, 96.2% had positive CSF TPPA, 44.2% had CSF pleocytosis and elevated CSF proteins, and 70.0% had nonspecific, abnormal brain MRIs. These results indicate that NS mimics almost all psychiatric disorders.