BACKGROUND Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is composed of gait abnormalities, urinary incontinence and decline in mentation. It is uncommonly induced by syphilitic infection. CASE REPORT A 76 year-old male present with gait disturbances, urinary incontinence, declining vision and cognition, with a known diagnosis of NPH. He underwent therapeutic lumbar puncture (LP), which demonstrated le...

Certain surface active substances produce a non-syphilitic flocculation reaction if cardiolipin is replaced by them in the VDRL test system (Tuomioja 2nd Kajanne, 1956). The test was called the APC test because these surface active substances were products of the Atlas Powder Company (Wilmington, Delaware). The most active was Span 60, stated by the manufacturer to be mainly sorbitan monosteara...

BACKGROUND Ceftriaxone is commonly used as an alternative antibiotic drug in treating syphilis but clinical data on its efficacy are limited. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the response of HIV-infected patients with active syphilis to treatment with penicillin or ceftriaxone. - METHODS A retrospective study involving 24 consecutive patients with a positive Veneral Disease Research Laboratory test (V...

Leucocyte migration in agarose was used to examine cell response in 48 rabbits infected with the Nichols strain of T. pallidum for 1 week to 16 months. The response of the peripheral leucocytes to T. pallidum antigen (TpAg), 3 and 15 mug/ml., Reiter antigen (RAg) 6 mug./ml., and VDRL reagent 1:500 was examined. The cells in the presence of RAg, TpAg--3 mug./ml.--and the VDRL reagent demonstrate...

Serum samples from 22 patients with infective endocarditis were analysed for the presence of antibodies to cardiolipin, false positive Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, and rheumatoid factor in order to determine the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies, their level, and to ascertain whether there was any correlation with the presence of rheumatoid factor. Although the latex...

A single radial haemolysis (SRH) technique, using Reiter protein or Reiter lysate as the coating antigen, was investigated. Results obtained with syphilitic and presumed non-syphilitic human sera were compared with results obtained in the absorbed fluorescent treponemal antibody test (FTA-ABS), the Reiter protein complement fixation test (RPCFT), the Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory Slide ...

One of the most useful criteria for the diagnosis or exclusion of neurosyphilis is the result of a VDRL test performed on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained by lumbar puncture. A 'bloody tap' occurs in about 10 per cent. of lumbar punctures (Solomon, 1935). How valid is a reactive serological test for syphilis on CSF from a 'bloody tap'? Although several investigators have evaluated the problem...