[Changes in the ventricular and vascular systems of the brain in latent syphilis]

Thirty-four patients with early latent syphilis were studied using clinico-laboratory methods including pneumoencephalography, echoventriculometry, rheoencephalography, radiocirculography and angiography. Examination revealed distinct changes in the ventricular and vascular systems of the brain in the form of marked hydrocephalus, atrophy of the cerebral matter, inhibition of the cerebral blood flow, tortuosity of the intracerebral blood flow, tortuosity of the intracerebral vessels and their irregular calibre. The results of invasive (pneumoencephalo- and angiography) and noninvasive ultrasonic and radioisotopic methods were in good correlation. These data indicate an early and fairly distinctive involvement of the nervous system in syphilis and the necessity of a wider use of non-invasive methods of examination for diagnosing latent and subclinical forms of neurosyphilis in conditions of dermatovenerological and neurological clinics.