Neurosyphilis - Treatment

Treatment:

Penicillin is used to treat neurosyphilis. The medicine may be given in various ways.

It may be injected into a vein several times a day for 10 - 14 days.
You may take probenecid by mouth 4 times a day, combined with daily muscle injections -- both for 10 - 14 days.

You must have follow-up blood tests at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months to make sure the infection is gone. You will need follow-up lumbar punctures for CSF fluid analysis every 6 months. If you have HIV or another medical condition, your follow-up schedule may be different.

For information on treating syphilis, see the following articles:

Primary syphilis
Secondary syphilis
Syphilis
Tertiary syphilis

Expectations (prognosis):

This is considered a life-threatening complication of syphilis. How well you do depends on how severe the neurosyphilis is before treatment.

Complications:

The symptoms can get slowly worse.

Calling your health care provider:

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you have had syphilis in the past and now have signs of neurological problems.

Central nervous system

Reviewed last on: 9/15/2010
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Hook EW. Syphilis. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 340.

Tramont EC. Treponema pallidum (syphilis). In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2009:chap 238.

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