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Bell's palsy and secondary syphilis: CSF spirochetes detected by immunofluorescence
Author(s) -
Davis Larry E.,
Sperry Sally
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410040416
Subject(s) - immunofluorescence , syphilis , secondary syphilis , medicine , indirect immunofluorescence , palsy , pathology , biology , virology , immunology , antibody , alternative medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)
Although Bell's palsy is usually idiopathic, occasional cases may have an identifiable infectious cause. When facial paralysis results from syphilis, it usually develops during the tertiary meningovascular stage. We report a 30‐year‐old man with secondary syphilis who developed facial paralysis associated with acute syphilitic meningitis. Spirochetes were identified in the cerebrospinal fluid by immunofluorescence using standard reagents from the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA‐ABS) test. Patients with Bell's palsy should be screened for syphilis with a blood FTA‐ABS test, and treatment with corticosteroids should be considered only after an infectious cause has been excluded.