What was the cause of Nietzsche's dementia?
Many scholars have argued that Nietzsche's dementia was caused by syphilis. A careful review of the evidence suggests that this consensus is probably incorrect. The syphilis hypothesis is not compatible with most of the evidence available. Other hypotheses--such as slowly growing right-sided retro-orbital meningioma--provide a more plausible fit to the evidence.
Sax
Leonard
L
Montgomery Center for Research in Child and Adolescent Development, Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. leonardsax@prodigy.net
D003704:Dementia / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history*; D005197:Famous Persons; D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008579:Meningioma / Q000150:complications / Q000266:history*; D019574:Optic Nerve Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000266:history*; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history*; D013587:Syphilis / Q000150:complications / Q000266:history*