Neurosyphilis : $b Modern systematic diagnosis and treatment presented in one hundred and thirty-seven case historiesSouthard, Elmer Ernest
Science
Neurosyphilis : $b Modern systematic diagnosis and treatment presented in one hundred and thirty-seven case histories
Southard, Elmer Ernest
Neurosyphilis
The pupils failed to react to flash-light but they reacted to sunlight.
They both were slightly irregular but were equal in size, and reacted in
accommodation. There was apparently almost complete blindness and
extreme deafness. Arm-jerks and knee-jerks were absent; there was an
occasional slight response of the left ankle-jerk, but the right
ankle-jerk was absent; the left abdominal reflex was very feeble; the
right absent; the cremasteric reflexes were absent, but there were no
other abnormalities in the systematic examination. Hand grips weak; gait
awkward, with right leg held somewhat flaccidly.
It was significant that percussion over the left frontal and parietal
regions was able to elicit great pain. Either through the patient’s
deafness or through sensory aphasia, spoken language was not understood.
The serum W. R. was positive, the fluid W. R. negative.
=Diagnosis=: The clinical symptoms seem clearly to indicate syphilis.
The local skull tenderness and impairment of vision might well suggest
intracranial pressure. Uniting these suggestions, we might automatically
arrive at a diagnosis of cerebral gumma. We have learned to be rather
cautious of making a diagnosis of gumma of the brain through its mere
rarity.
Decompression was suggested and executed. A deep growth resembling a
GUMMA, in the view of the surgeon, was discovered. No attempt could be
made to remove it. The patient died without recovering consciousness.
1. What is the significance of the negative fluid W. R. in this case
of cerebral gumma? The W. R. producing substances not infrequently
fail to appear in the spinal fluid from a gumma of the brain. The
serum W. R. was positive in this case, but even the serum W. R.
may be negative in cases of gumma, both of the brain and of the
body at large. It must be remembered that the serum W. R. may be
negative in paretic neurosyphilis (general paresis); the serum W.
R. is even more apt to be negative in cases of gumma.
[Illustration:
Gummatous meningitis. Compression of hemisphere. Tissue destruction of
underlying cortex.
]
2. Is operative procedure to be advised in cerebral gumma? There are
cases in which the acute and threatening symptoms of heightened
intracranial pressure require operative treatment simply because
the therapeutist cannot wait for the effect of antisyphilitic
treatment. Moreover, antisyphilitic treatment of cerebral gumma is
not always as successful as that of most syphilitic lesions.
3. Could the intracranial pressure be caused by other syphilitic
lesions than gumma? A heavy meningitis may cause symptoms such as
produced by an intracranial tumor. In such a case one will usually
find evidences of inflammation in the spinal fluid. Cysts caused
by syphilitic lesions may also produce identical symptoms.
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