Syphilis
Vincenzo Berghella in Maternal-Fetal Evidence Based Guidelines, 2022
Treponema pallidum is easily transmitted by sexual contact, and an overwhelming majority of cases are transmitted by sexual intercourse. Endemic syphilis is transmitted non-venerally by close contact with an active lesion and occurs in communities living under poor hygiene conditions. Syphilis is rarely transmitted during transfusion of blood or blood products or through needle sharing by intravenous drug abusers. The organism generally enters the body through small breaches in epithelial surfaces of genital, anorectal, oropharyngeal, or other cutaneous sites; however; penetration of intact mucous membranes can occur. Once inside the body it rapidly disseminates. The incubation period for T. pallidum averages 3 weeks, but can range 10–90 days. During the incubation period infected patients have, by definition, neither clinical nor serologic evidence of disease but are potentially infectious. The period of greatest infectivity is early in the disease when a chancre, mucous patch, or condyloma latum is present. Infectivity decreases over time, and after 4 years it is very unlikely that an untreated individual will spread syphilis, even by sexual contact. The risk of infection during a single sexual encounter with an infected individual is up to 60% depending on the stage of disease, and approaches 100% after five sexual encounters [8].
Infectious and parasitic causes of hypopigmentation
Electra Nicolaidou, Clio Dessinioti, Andreas D. Katsambas in Hypopigmentation, 2019
Treponematoses are chronic bacterial infections caused by the spirochetal organisms of the Treponema species. The agents of human treponematoses include four closely related members of the genus Treponema: three subspecies of Treponema pallidum plus Treponema carateum. T. pallidum subsp. pallidum causes venereal syphilis, while T. pallidum subsp. pertenue, T. pallidum subsp. endemicum, and T. carateum are the agents of the endemic treponematoses yaws, bejel, and pinta, respectively. All human treponematoses share remarkable similarities in pathogenesis and clinical manifestations, consistent with the high genetic and antigenic relatedness of their etiological pathogens.50,51
Bacteria
Julius P. Kreier in Infection, Resistance, and Immunity, 2022
Syphilis is another bacterial disease which may be considered to be a disease of the urogenital tract although the disease is not limited to that organ system. Syphilis is sexually transmitted. It is caused by the spirochete, Treponema palladum. Transmission requires direct contact with a syphilitic lesion as the organisms cannot survive long in the environment. Treponema penetrate the skin or mucous membranes at the contact site where they produce a local ulcer-like lesion called a chancre. The organisms, however, soon spread throughout the body and may in later stages damage the skin, bones, joints, and nervous system. They can also cross the placenta and infect the fetus.
Presentation of Ocular Syphilis with Bilateral Optic Neuropathy
Published in Neuro-Ophthalmology, 2023
Mustafa Kayabaşı, Seher Köksaldı, Ali Osman Saatci, Meltem Söylev Bajin
Treponema pallidum is a pathogen which cannot be cultured in vitro. Therefore, the diagnosis is based on the relevant clinical findings and appropriate serological examinations. Two groups of tests, non-treponemal and treponemal, are utilized. Besides the frequently used non-treponemal tests VDRL and RPR, treponemal tests including fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) and treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TP-PA) are also employed. Serological test positivity with any type of ocular involvement points out the diagnosis of ocular syphilis. However, some autoimmune diseases may interfere with the non-treponemal tests and cause false positivity. Also, treponemal tests may give false positive results in several conditions, such as other spirochaete infections and malaria.21
Demystifying Ocular Syphilis – A Major Review
Published in Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, 2023
Khushboo Chauhan, Alex Fonollosa, Lena Giralt, Joseba Artaraz, Edward L. Randerson, Debra A. Goldstein, João M. Furtado, Justine R. Smith, Sridharan Sudharshan, Arshee S. Ahmed, Nivedita Nair, Joveeta Joseph, Carlos Pavesio, Mark Westcott, Supawat Trepatchayakorn, Ahmed B. Sallam, Abdelrahman M. Elhusseiny, Mudit Tyagi
Treponema pallidum, the pathogenic bacterium that causes syphilis, belongs to the order Spirochaetales, which include other pathogenic genera such as Borrelia and Leptospira. Treponema pallidum is derived from the Greek terms trepo (“to turn”) and nema (“thread”) and the Latin term pallida (“pale”). The genus Treponema also includes four human pathogens and at least six human non-pathogens. The pathogenic species are as follows: T. pallidum subsp. pallidum which causes venereal syphilis, T. pallidum subsp. endemicum which causes bejel, T. pallidum subsp. pertenue which causes yaws, and T. carateum which causes pinta (Figure 1). These four agents are morphologically indistinguishable with >95% DNA homology, but a genetic signature of T. pallidum pallidum has been found in the 5’-flanking of the tpr15 gene that distinguishes it from T. pallidum pertenue and T. pallidum endemicum.22
CT findings in aggressive Takayasu arteritis
Published in Acta Cardiologica, 2022
Benjamín Roque Rodríguez, Luis Enrique Lezcano Gort, María Victoria Mogollón Jiménez, Ignacio Díaz Villalonga, Sergio Moyano Calvente, Zineb Kounka
A 52-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with grade-2 dyspnoea without intermittent claudication. She complained of self-limiting episodes of fever, asthenia, and myalgias since the adolescence. Physical examination revealed a loud panfocal systolic murmur (IV/VI), and large inter-arm blood pressure difference (180/80-120/70 mmHg in right and left arm respectively). Treponema pallidum serological-test and autoantibodies were negative, and acute phase reactants were normal. Doppler echocardiogram reveals doubtful patent ductus arteriosus. CT angiography with multiplanar (Figure 1, panels 1 and 4) and volumen-rendered reformatted images (Figure 1, panels 2 and 3) showed severe narrowing of the middle segment of the descending thoracic/abdominal aorta (a), and both iliac arteries, with intima-media thickening in all of them (b). Collaterals have been developed, like a huge and tortuous right internal mammary artery which anastomoses with branches of the epigastric arteries (c). We found severe stenosis in common carotid arteries (critical in left common carotid artery) (d) and in both subclavian arteries at the ostia of vertebral arteries(e). On the basis of clinical and angiographic abnormalities, the diagnosis of Takayasu arteritis (TA) was made. TA is a large-vessel granulomatous vasculitis that primarily affects the aorta and its primary branches, specially supraaortic trunk and subclavian artery. It principally affects young women. The patient refused to take any treatment or perform new tests. Actually, she remains asymptomatic.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Treponema Pallidum
- Yaws
- Syphilis
- NONvenereal Endemic Syphilis
- Treponema Carateum
- Pinta
- Treponema Paraluiscuniculi
- Treponema Succinifaciens
- Brachyspira Hyodysenteriae
- Brachyspira Innocens