Syphilis mimicking idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a condition of yet unknown aetiology affecting predominantly obese females of childbearing age. IIH is a diagnosis of exclusion as raised cerebrospinal fluid pressure may occur secondary to numerous other medical conditions. An atypical phenotype or an atypical disease course should alert the physician to reevaluate a presumed IIH-diagnosis. The authors report a case of a 32-year-old non-obese male with intracranial hypertension, secondary to a syphilitic central nervous system infection, initially misdiagnosed as being idiopathic. Upon relevant antibiotic treatment, signs and symptoms of elevated intracranial pressure resolved completely. Syphilis is a rare, but very important, differential diagnosis that in this case was clinically indistinguishable from IIH.
Neurology Department, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark. hamayr01@glo.regionh.dk
Hanne
H
Yri
Marianne
M
Wegener
Rigmor
R
Jensen
D000328:Adult; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009494:Neurosyphilis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000175:diagnosis*