Syphilitic myelitis is a rare manifestation of neurosyphilis that has received little attention in the literature. This paper discusses the case of a 40-year-old female patient with a history of incompletely treated syphilis who presented with several weeks of progressive numbness and weakness in both legs in January following a high-risk sexual behaviour. The clinical examination revealed that this patient had muscle strength grade 3 in the left lower limb and grade 4 in the right lower limb, normal muscle tone in all four limbs, decreased sensation in the left lower limb compared to the right lower limb, and bilateral Hoffmann(+) bilateral Babinski(+). A cranial MRI scan revealed a few patchy and sheet-like abnormal signal shadows in the semi-ovoid centre. A spinal cord MRI scan revealed an aberrant signal in the spinal cord (cervical 2-thoracic 12 level), suggesting a high possibility of spondylitis. The patient was diagnosed with syphilitic myelitis, ruling out other infectious or immunologic aetiologies. The patient was given intravenous penicillin and intravenous methylprednisolone at 1 g daily for 3 days. The medication was gradually reduced and then withdrawn. During outpatient follow-up, the patient improved and had no relapse of symptoms. This paper demonstrates the exceptional efficacy of TCM methods for the treatment of syphilitic myelitis.

Zhang Xuanyue, Ba Li, Liu Hanjiao. Combination of Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of a patient with syphilitic myelitis secondary to a brain lesion. Frontiers in Medical Science Research (2023) Vol. 5, Issue 12: 97-102. https://doi.org/10.25236/FMSR.2023.051213.

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