Secondary Syphilis in Patients Treated at the City Institute for Skin and Venereal Diseases in Belgrade from 2010 to 2014
June 2015
in “
Serbian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology
”
Studysummary In this study, secondary syphilis presented diverse clinical manifestations, with syphilitic alopecia occurring only in HIV-positive patients, underscoring the importance of considering syphilis in differential diagnoses for vulnerable populations. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
Between March 2014 and March 2015, a study of 436 emergency EEG exams identified lateralized periodic discharges (LPDs) in 5 patients aged 68 to 92 with a history of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and previous strokes. These patients showed clinical and EEG improvement following antiepileptic drug treatment. The study suggests that CVDs can lead to LPDs in stroke patients and recommends evaluating such patients for nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) when LPDs are observed. LPDs were associated with focal seizure symptoms or neurologic signs, and while intravenous benzodiazepine therapy could resolve focal seizure activity, it did not always eliminate LPD activity. However, antiepileptic drugs were effective in resolving LPD activity in four patients. The study emphasizes the importance of EEG evaluation in patients with fluctuating symptoms, as NCSE can mimic stroke episodes, and LPDs may indicate both interictal and ictal activity. No conflicts of interest were declared.
