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Syphilis in the Elderly

Syphilis in the Elderly To the Editor.— I am writing in reference to the article, "The 'Terrible' Question," in which Dr Stanley Bierman1 wrote about the difficulty of inquiring into the personal sexual history of an older person, and what we uncover when we do. Recently I had the occasion to assist in the care of a 92-year-old woman who was evaluated for severe dementia and was discovered to have a 4+ FTA-ABS result. Tertiary syphilis must always be considered in the evaluation of dementia. Although relatively rare today, this condition may not be so rare in the present elderly cohort, who may have contracted syphilis when much younger. This is not the first case of syphilis I have seen among elderly patients suffering from dementia. Dr Bierman's article stimulated our team to consider that we might be observing not tertiary syphilis, but rather a recent acute stage. We began to explore our http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

Syphilis in the Elderly

Luke, Edward A.
JAMA , Volume 254 (13) – Oct 4, 1985
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References (1)

Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.1985.03360130054024
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

To the Editor.— I am writing in reference to the article, "The 'Terrible' Question," in which Dr Stanley Bierman1 wrote about the difficulty of inquiring into the personal sexual history of an older person, and what we uncover when we do. Recently I had the occasion to assist in the care of a 92-year-old woman who was evaluated for severe dementia and was discovered to have a 4+ FTA-ABS result. Tertiary syphilis must always be considered in the evaluation of dementia. Although relatively rare today, this condition may not be so rare in the present elderly cohort, who may have contracted syphilis when much younger. This is not the first case of syphilis I have seen among elderly patients suffering from dementia. Dr Bierman's article stimulated our team to consider that we might be observing not tertiary syphilis, but rather a recent acute stage. We began to explore our

Journal

JAMA – American Medical Association

Published: Oct 4, 1985

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