The patient then returned to his old position and has done satisfactorily for the past six months. During this entire time, he has been coming to the hospital for treatment: during the major portion of the time, about once in two weeks; of late, once in four weeks.
The significant point in this case is that improvement did not show itself until after more than three months of intensive treatment, and then the improvement was synchronous with a weakening of the spinal fluid tests.
It is further significant that his mental and physical condition was good before the tests had reached anything like normal; and that under treatment, these tests continued to grow weaker and weaker, until at the end of a year, they were practically negative.
The case further illustrates the enormous number of injections of salvarsan preparations that may be given to a patient without causing any appreciable damage to the general health or to the kidney function. Mr. Ryan has had more than 60 injections.
1. How soon after treatment is instituted does improvement usually occur in paretic neurosyphilis? In our experience improvement usually shows itself in from two or three months of treatment. Occasionally the improvement may be very marked shortly after treatment is commenced, that is, after three or four injections of salvarsan. This is not, however, the rule and as in the case of Ryan, it may be only after more than three months that improvement is seen. This means that in the treatment of these cases patience must be exercised and much work done.
2. What is the point of withdrawing large amounts of spinal fluid as in the case of Henry Ryan? It has been stated that the withdrawal of 40 or more cc., of spinal fluid while the patient is under treatment has the effect of reducing the intraspinous and intracranial pressure and thereby allowing the drug to diffuse into the nervous tissue better than it would do under ordinary conditions. How much truth there is in this contention it is difficult to say and there is as yet no experimental evidence to confirm this contention. As a matter of fact, the spinal fluid in cases of paresis is usually under increased pressure and it is at least plausible to conceive that a reduction of this pressure may give some symptomatic relief.
Evidence of the activity of syphilis outside the central nervous system may be seen in cases of neurosyphilis despite intensive treatment.
Case 116. William Rosetti was a speculator, 43 years of age, when he was brought to the Psychopathic Hospital on account of an outbreak in which he smashed a showcase at the store where his sweetheart was employed; he caused so much commotion that he was arrested.
On admission, he was very excited, talking loudly and at length. For some days it was very difficult to manage him, he was so active. At any moment, he would insist upon undressing and taking physical culture exercises. He was very euphoric and expansive, and had no insight into his condition.
Physically, he was a powerfully-built man and in very good physical condition except for an iritis and moderate thickening of the peripheral arteries. The neurological signs of importance were Argyll-Robertson pupils, and absent knee-jerks and ankle-jerks. With these findings in mind, a tentative diagnosis of General Paresis was made, and this was substantiated by the laboratory tests, which gave positive W. R.’s in blood and spinal fluid, globulin, excessive albumin, slight pleocytosis, and a “paretic” gold sol reaction.