Neurosyphilis as a Cause of Facial and Vestibulocochlear Nerve Dysfunction: MR Imaging Features

Summary: The prevalence of syphilis increased for several decades before the mid-1990s in the United States, partic-ularly in the southern states. We report a case of neuro-syphilis causing bilateral facial and vestibulocochlear nerve dysfunction in which the diagnosis was not initially sus-pected based on the patient’s demographics and history. The MR imaging features helped to make the diagnosis in this case and to exclude other possible causes of multiple cranial nerve dysfunction in this patient. Hearing loss as-sociated with neurosyphilis is one of the few treatable forms of progressive hearing loss, and it is essential that a diagnosis of neurosyphilis be made expeditiously. Neurosyphilis is difficult to diagnose because of its variable time of onset and nonspecific clinical presentation. According to the Centers for Diseas