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Case Report
Uncommon cause of progressive infectious paraplegia: Syphilitic gums
1 Neuro Radiology Department, IbnSina Hospital Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco
Address correspondence to:
Lamiae Bouimetarhan
Neuro Radiology Department, IbnSina Hospital Mohamed V University,
Morocco
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Article ID: 101027Z01LB2019
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Bouimetarhan L, Ayouche O, Habib B, Fikri M, Jiddane M, El Hassani MR. Uncommon cause of progressive infectious paraplegia: Syphilitic gums. Int J Case Rep Images 2019;10:101027Z01LB2019.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Syphilitic gums of the central nervous system are rare; the intra-spinal localization of then is periodically described. Moreover, since the advent of antibiotherapy, the occurrence of tertiary syphilis has become rare and its diagnosis has become more complex, that has made it difficult to study the later forms of treponemal medullary infections. However, it is predominant in HIV-infected populations.
Case Report: A 56-year-old man, who had an earlier history of treated neurosyphylis, was admitted with the complaint of walking difficulty. MRI showed a heterogeneous signal abnormalities of the spinal cord of D9 to D12, in favor of syphilitic gumma. It seemed useful to review the MRI aspects of the syphilitic gum and its semiology as well as its important differentials.
Conclusion: Syphilitic gums are rare pathological occurrences in central nervous system. The advent of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostic techniques has led to an increased sensitivity for asymptomatic disease and diagnosis that is more frequent. The reference treatment remained penicillin associated with corticotherapy. The rarity of this disease and the nonspecific radiological findings, often makes it difficult to detect this disease.
Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging, Myelitis, Progressive paraplegia, Syphilis
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Author Contributions
Lamiae Bouimetarhan - Acquisition of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Othman Ayouche - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Bellamlih Habib - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Meriem Fikri - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Mohammed Jiddane - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Moulay Rachid El Hassani - Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this study.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2019 Lamiae Bouimetarhan et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
