BACKGROUND: With the introduction of antibiotics, neurosyphilis is now considered uncommon, and accurate diagnosis sometimes is problematic as the symptoms and signs are not pathognomonic. REVIEW SUMMARY: We present a 51-year-old man who had a 4-month history of general malaise and subtle cognitive impairment, combined with a normal brain image study, who ultimately developed an episode of status epilepticus as the main manifestation of unrecognized neurosyphilis. CONCLUSION: Because a clinical diagnosis of neurosyphilis is rarely encountered today in the developed world, a high index of suspicion and clinician awareness is very important in early diagnosis.
BACKGROUND: With the introduction of antibiotics, neurosyphilis is now considered uncommon, and accurate diagnosis sometimes is problematic as the symptoms and signs are not pathognomonic. REVIEW SUMMARY: We present a 51-year-old man who had a 4-month history of general malaise and subtle cognitive impairment, combined with a normal brain image study, who ultimately developed an episode of status epilepticus as the main manifestation of unrecognized neurosyphilis. CONCLUSION: Because a clinical diagnosis of neurosyphilis is rarely encountered today in the developed world, a high index of suspicion and clinician awareness is very important in early diagnosis.