"Unraveling the Mysteries of Congenital Neurosyphilis: Molecular Diagnosis in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Neonates as a Key to Early Detection"

• Grant number: 24/04111-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Sandra Helena Alves Bonon
• Grantee: Julia Romero Zerbetto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Congenital neurosyphilis remains a significant challenge for children's health and requires more specific diagnostic methods, since most cases are asymptomatic and a variety of complications arise from birth, such as: vision disorders, blindness, paralysis of body regions, seizures, dementia causing persistent memory or behavioral changes and, in some cases, the disease can be fatal. An important characteristic of syphilis is that it can remain in a latent state, causing future complications and making diagnosis by immunoassay methods difficult. Against this backdrop, this research aims to identify a fragment of the tpp47 gene of T. pallidum in CSF samples from newborns with suspected congenital infection using the Real Time PCR (qPCR) technique; to compare the results obtained using Real Time PCR (qPCR) with the non-treponemal VDRL and treponemal FTA-ABS or TPHA tests and to associate the results with the patients' symptoms and an analysis of the mother's and newborn's medical records. CSF samples collected from newborns at the Women's Health Care Center (CAISM/UNICAMP) with suspected neurological disease will be studied. It is hoped to verify whether the applications of these techniques compared to conventional techniques are better in terms of optimizing detection to facilitate early diagnosis in cases where treponemal and non- treponemal tests are negative.