Ilaria Pesaresi1, Mario Sabato2, Roberta Doria3, Ilaria Desideri2, Melania Guida4, Filippo Sean Giorgi4, Mirco Cosottini5. 1. Unit of Neuroradiology, AOUP, Santa Chiara Hospital, Pisa, Italy. 2. Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. 3. Unit of Infectious Diseases, AOUP, Santa Chiara Hospital, Pisa, Italy. 4. Unit of Neurology, AOUP, Santa Chiara Hospital, Pisa, Italy. 5. Unit of Neuroradiology, AOUP, Santa Chiara Hospital, Pisa, Italy Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: General paresis (GP) is a late form of parenchymal neurosyphilis causing dementia and neuropsychiatric disorders. The diagnosis is often difficult since the clinical signs are protean. So far, neuroimaging has played a minor role as radiological findings are not specific. METHODS: We studied three immunocompetent patients, admitted to hospital for cognitive impairment. The diagnosis of neurosyphilis was formulated on the basis of serological texts and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. The patients underwent a 3 T MR examination including susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) sequence before and after the initiation of penicillin therapy. RESULTS: In all patients, SWI revealed cortical hypointensity, mostly distributed in frontal and temporal lobes. In drug-naive patients, the hypointensity extended over the whole cortical thickness, from the cortical/subcortical junction to the pial surface. After starting the penicillin therapy, the cortical hypointensity partially reversed, involving only the deep cortical layers. CONCLUSIONS: The MRI pattern at SWI observed in patients with GP was not reported in other infectious or inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, thus we suggest it could be a peculiar radiological finding of the disease. On the basis of previous pathological data, we hypothesise that cortical SWI hypointensity could be expression of iron deposits within activated microglia. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
BACKGROUND: General paresis (GP) is a late form of parenchymal neurosyphilis causing dementia and neuropsychiatric disorders. The diagnosis is often difficult since the clinical signs are protean. So far, neuroimaging has played a minor role as radiological findings are not specific. METHODS: We studied three immunocompetent patients, admitted to hospital for cognitive impairment. The diagnosis of neurosyphilis was formulated on the basis of serological texts and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. The patients underwent a 3 T MR examination including susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) sequence before and after the initiation of penicillin therapy. RESULTS: In all patients, SWI revealed cortical hypointensity, mostly distributed in frontal and temporal lobes. In drug-naive patients, the hypointensity extended over the whole cortical thickness, from the cortical/subcortical junction to the pial surface. After starting the penicillin therapy, the cortical hypointensity partially reversed, involving only the deep cortical layers. CONCLUSIONS: The MRI pattern at SWI observed in patients with GP was not reported in other infectious or inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, thus we suggest it could be a peculiar radiological finding of the disease. On the basis of previous pathological data, we hypothesise that cortical SWI hypointensity could be expression of iron deposits within activated microglia. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
Authors: Salil Soman; Jose A Bregni; Berkin Bilgic; Ursula Nemec; Audrey Fan; Zhe Liu; Robert L Barry; Jiang Du; Keith Main; Jerome Yesavage; Maheen M Adamson; Michael Moseley; Yi Wang Journal: Curr Radiol Rep Date: 2017-02-14