Syphilis in Clinical Psychiatry: A Review

Neurosyphilis and psychosis

“…Psychiatry patients were also at increased risk from the infection due to multiple reasons. (Hutto, 2001;Mirsal et al, 2007). Disinhibition due to psychiatric illnesses posed more risks for high-risk behaviors and psychiatry patients also might not have the capacity to understand the seriousness of the consequences of their behaviors due to their impaired judgment.…”

Revisiting an old foe: The face of psychosis in neurosyphilis

“…[9][10][11][12] Our case adds to these and parallels this change of face of modern neurosyphilis, but more importantly demonstrates that rapid clinical improvement and reversibility of the neuropsychiatric burden following antibiotic therapy is attainable. This phenomenon has been previously documented in patients with comparable presentations and further highlights the importance of a prompt diagnosis together with appropriate timely therapy.…”

Psychiatric Manifestations of Neurosyphilis

“…Some authors (Hutto, 2001;Mirsal et al, 2007) state that psychiatric patients may have a higher risk to acquire syphilis during their lifetime. Impulse control dysfunctions, a highrisk sexual behavior, such as promiscuity or unprotected sex, or cognitive impairment and difficulties in seeking health care and assistance may be the cause for it.…”

“…A few case reports on substance dependence in association with neurosyphilis are available. Hutto (2001Hutto ( , 2000 reports of a patient initially treated for cocaine dependency, depression, and psychotic symptoms. Initial syphilis screening detected the eventual presence of neurosyphilis.…”