Everything about Tabes Dorsalis totally explained
Tabes dorsalis is a slow degeneration of the
nerve cells and nerve fibers that carry sensory information to the
brain. The degenerating nerves are in the
dorsal columns of the
spinal cord (the portion closest to the back of the body) and carry information that help maintain a person's sense of position, vibration, and discriminative touch.
Cause
Tabes dorsalis is caused by demyelination. It is the result of an untreated
syphilis infection.
Symptoms
Symptoms may not appear for some decades after the initial infection and include:
weakness, diminished reflexes, paresthesias including morbid cutaneous sensations having no objective cause, shooting and burning pains, pricking sensations, and formication (a sensation like that produced by small insects crawling over skin), and hypesthesias (abnormally diminished cutaneous, especially tactile, sensory modalities), unsteady gait (
locomotor ataxia), progressive degeneration of the joints,
loss of coordination, episodes of intense pain and disturbed sensation (including
glossodynia),
personality changes,
dementia,
deafness,
visual impairment, and impaired response to light. The skeletal musculature is hypotonic due to destruction of the sensory limb of the spindle reflex. The deep tendon reflexes are also diminished or absent. For example, the knee jerk or patellar reflex may be lacking, a characteristic finding in tabes known as
Westphal's sign.
Tabes dorsalgia is a related back pain.
Prognosis
If left untreated, tabes dorsalis can lead to
paralysis,
dementia, and
blindness. Existing nerve damage can't be reversed.
Incidence/Prevalence
The disease is more frequent in males than in females. Onset is commonly during mid-life. The incidence of tabes dorsalis is rising, in part due to co-associated
HIV infection.
Treatment
Penicillin, administered
intravenously, is the treatment of choice. Associated pain can be treated with
opiates,
valproate, or
carbamazepine. Patients may also require physical or
rehabilitative therapy to deal with muscle wasting and weakness. Preventive treatment for those who come into sexual contact with an individual with tabes dorsalis is important.
Trivia
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the
Sherlock Holmes stories, completed his
doctorate on tabes dorsalis in 1885.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tabes Dorsalis'.
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