title: A retrospective study of syphilis seropositivity in a cohort of demented patients.
abstract: A retrospective study of 376 patients with dementia was performed to determine the rate of syphilis seropositivity. Subjects were seen over a 2.5-year period and received medical, social, psychiatric, neurological, and laboratory evaluations. Mean age was 74 years and 73% were women. Diagnoses included Alzheimer's disease (AD; 29.8%), vascular dementia (VascD; 24.7%), combined AD/VascD (14.3%), and other diagnoses (31.2%). Dementia was moderately advanced with a mean Folstein Mini-Mental State Score of 16. Fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption tests (FA) were performed on 338 of the patients with 10.9% being reactive. Two of nine subjects with reactive FA's had reactive rapid plasma reagin tests.
authors: Department of Neurology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick 08903.
authors: A L
authors: AL
authors: Powell
authors: A C
authors: AC
authors: Coyne
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Jen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009494:Neurosyphilis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis