Folliculotropic Non-Alopecic Secondary Syphilis

    September 2011 in “ Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology ”
    Jennifer Villaseñor‐Park, Emily Clark, Jonhan Ho, Joseph C. English
    TLDR A man with HIV had an unusual syphilis rash that looked like folliculitis but was cured with penicillin.
    In this case report, a 28-year-old HIV-positive African American man presented with a 4-day history of a generalized, pruritic, folliculocentric papular eruption, which was diagnosed as secondary syphilis. Despite a history of untreated HIV and previous syphilis treatment, the patient's skin biopsy initially suggested folliculitis rather than syphilis. However, serology confirmed syphilis with an RPR titer of 1:128, and treponemal stains on the biopsy revealed Treponema pallidum within the folliculitis areas. The eruption resolved with intramuscular penicillin. This case highlighted the diagnostic challenges of secondary syphilis in HIV-infected patients due to varied clinical and histopathologic presentations and the importance of biopsy with treponemal staining in such cases.
    Discuss this study in the Community →

    Related Community Posts Join

    6 / 52 results
      Diffuse hair loss and scalp biopsies

      community Diffuse hair loss and scalp biopsies

      in Research  692 upvotes 4 months ago
      Scalp biopsies are crucial for diagnosing hair loss conditions like Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and retrograde hair loss, as treatments like finasteride and dutasteride may not be effective if other conditions are present. Combining PPAR-GAMMA agonists with retinoids could improve treatments for conditions like Lichen Planopilaris.

      community Roughly 1.5 years progress. Dut, Fin, Minox, RU.

      in Progress Pictures  795 upvotes 2 years ago
      A user's progress with treatments for hair loss, including Dutasteride, Finasteride, Minoxidil, and RU. Other members of the conversation provided tips such as using Microneedling and Tretinoin to increase regrowth and wounding areas of the scalp that are thinning in order to fill them in.

      community Finally Scalp Folliculitis-Free after 2 Decades of Suffering

      in Treatment  61 upvotes 1 month ago
      A 37-year-old male resolved scalp folliculitis by adopting a low-histamine diet and taking Vitamin A, Zinc, and Fish Oil, leading to better skin health and thicker hair. He warns about the potential toxicity of excessive Vitamin A intake.

      community I think I’ve finally found the reason for my hair loss

      in Chat  98 upvotes 2 weeks ago
      The user experienced hair loss since 2019 and tried finasteride, dutasteride, RU58841, and ketoconazole shampoo without success. A scalp biopsy showed scarring and inflammation from folliculitis, indicating chronic inflammation was affecting treatment effectiveness.

      community Anybody else have family in denial over your hair loss?

      in Chat  71 upvotes 5 months ago
      A 20-year-old discusses family denial about his hair loss, diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis, folliculitis, and male pattern baldness. He is prescribed Dutasteride and oral Minoxidil for treatment.

      community Yeah, it’s working 👍🏻 Nov 2023 to March 2024

      in Progress Pictures  63 upvotes 9 months ago
      Animajax, who started off completely bald, has seen hair regrowth using finasteride 1.25mg, oral minoxidil 2.5mg, occasional topical minoxidil, dermastamping, benzoyl peroxide, and tretinoin. They recently added nizoral and plan to switch to a topical solution combining minoxidil and dutasteride.

    Similar Research

    5 / 1000+ results