Changing Trends in General Paresis

THERE ix much recent medical literature on the subject of syphilis as a 'dying disease.' King (1958), in deploring the conmmonly held view that venereology is in decline as a specialty, suggests that the proportion of late syphilis may well have increased to-day since treatment has become easier to administer, and less systemuatic therapy is given in the early stages. Redmill (1959) emphasizes that the official statistics from the V.D. centres give a false indication of the real occurrence of syphilis, and draws attention to the study of the late manifestations of this disease as a more reliable index of its prevalence. With few exceptions, all cases of general paresis in the city of Belfast of the type requiring in-patient treatment are received into Purdysburn Hospital. The trends of morbidity and mortality in this disease from the experience of this centre have been investigated as an authentic index of the prevalence of this form of late syphilis in a large urban community.