Along with considerable supporting material, this website features the work of John Scythes and his medical colleagues. Beginning in 1987 they sought to explore the possible connection between undetected syphilis and a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS.
It appears syphilis has been underdiagnosed and undertreated, a problem that goes back to the beginning of the Wassermann era, and indeed long before. Tests based on lipoidal antigens, often called non-treponemal tests, do not detect the larger pool of persons with latent syphilis, the immunological consequences of which have not been systematically investigated in the context of HIV infection and progression to AIDS.
Recent efforts to confirm the prevalence of syphilis in high-risk patients by reverse sequence screening, i.e. using a treponemal test first as the screening test, have revealed untreated syphilis at higher rates than expected. Isolation of anti-treponemal IgM has also suggested more latent cases.
Direct testing using experimental PCR discovered even more previously undetected cases. Combined evidence suggests latent syphilis is a persistent immunological condition that predisposes people to the AIDS process and cannot be managed with the older Wassermann-based concept.
In light of the overwhelming association between a past history of syphilis and HIV seroconversion, the use of the above-mentioned techniques should help reveal the role of latent syphilis in persons with HIV/AIDS. Repeating older syphilis reinoculation studies may help establish a successful animal model for AIDS, and lead to AIDS vaccine exploration based on stopping latent syphilis.
