Neurosyphilis as a cause of facial and vestibulocochlear nerve dysfunction: MR imaging features

The prevalence of syphilis increased for several decades before the mid-199 0s in the United States, particularly in the southern states. We report a c ase of neurosyphilis causing bilateral facial and vestibulocochlear nerve d ysfunction in which the diagnosis was not initially suspected 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 associated with ne urosyphilis is one of the few treatable forms of progressive hearing loss, and it is essential that a diagnosis of neurosyphilis be made expeditiously .