Peer 1 (Jab. C.) Discussion Response 1

Offer a brief responses to this peer discussion below with at least one original peer-reviewed article within the last 5 years. At this point, I will be paying special attention to proper APA and graduate-level writing. All responses or postings are required to be written in a scholarly manner and should not exceed two paragraphs, single spaced. All references must be cited correctly in APA style. Please observe conventions of APA style as outlines in chapters two and three of the APA manual. Cite and reference peer-reviewed articles only. Do not cite the APA manual. Do not exclusively "recycle or reuse" your own articles or those of your peers for multiple postings. I am not looking for whether your agree or disagree. I am not interested in opinions. Your posts must be scholarly and in the APA style, not like journalism or social media. Do not state whether you agree or not. I am not interested in your opinions; I would rather you write something interesting. You are not writing social media and opinion pieces. Your posts should be free of bias and opinion. Avoid adjectives like "crucial" and "critical" etc. because in APA, those words must be defined, and because they seem opinionated and biased. Merely state findings and facts. Avoid exaggerated comments to your peers like "that was excellent." Just thank them and write your contribution. If your posts are just repeats of nothing new and filling up white space, then you will not gain points. I do not like fluff. Discussion 8: Medical Conditions and Mental Health Symptoms Psychotic symptoms can arise from syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection brought on by the bacteria Treponema pallidum, especially when the illness is in its tertiary stage and referred to as neurosyphilis. Misdiagnosis and incorrect treatment are common when neurosyphilis is mistaken for several psychiatric diseases, such as dementia, mania, depression, and psychosis. It is expected to confuse symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, personality changes, and cognitive deterioration with primary psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder or schizophrenia (Fitzgerald et al., 2014). In individuals presenting with psychiatric symptoms, a comprehensive diagnostic workup is required to rule out syphilis. This comprises serological tests like the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test and rapid plasma reagin (RPR), which are followed by a fluorescence treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test for confirmation. Furthermore, the measurement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), including CSF-VDRL and FTA-ABS assays, CSF cell count, and protein levels, is critical for diagnosing neurosyphilis (Ghanem, 2019). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other neuroimaging studies can be used to identify structural brain abnormalities linked to neurosyphilis. Prompt detection and management of syphilis are essential to avert permanent brain impairment and mitigate psychological symptoms. High-dose intravenous penicillin is commonly used as a treatment, and it can successfully treat the infection and significantly reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms. Consequently, while making a differential diagnosis for newly developed psychiatric symptoms, doctors must take syphilis into account, particularly for patients who have risk factors for STDs or unexplained neurological abnormalities (Ghanem, 2019). References: Fitzgerald, F., Moriarty, J., & Johnson, S. (2014). Neurosyphilis presenting as functional psychosis: A case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, pp. 8, 113. https://doi(dot)org/10.1186/1752-1947-8-113 Ghanem, K. G. (2019). Neurosyphilis: A historical perspective and review. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 16(5), e157-e168. https://doi(dot)org/10.1111/j.1755-5949.2010.00183.x