Читать книгу Neurosyphilis. Modern Systematic Diagnosis and Treatment Presented in One Hundred and Thirty-Seven Case Histories онлайн

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Joffroy and Mignot differentiate what they call preparetic neurasthenia from other neurasthenic states, not only on the basis of its etiology but on the basis of its symptoms. They also call attention to the fact that neurasthenia, being a pure neurosis, develops either on a manifestly hereditary basis or upon some physical injury, weakening disease, or moral shock. The pure neurotic suffers a great deal more than the patient who is destined to become a victim of paresis. The character change in neurasthenia does not amount to that entire transformation of personality (even to the performance of criminal acts) that we find in paretic neurosyphilis; at the most, the neurasthenic shows minor emotional disturbances and a certain pathological egoism. The psychotherapeutic test also rather readily dissipates many of the neurotic, hypochondriacal fears and feelings. Although both pure neurasthenia and the paretic pseudoneurasthenia are characterized by sexual weakness, the sexual anæsthesia of the preparetic is practically always preceded by a stage of sexual over-excitement. These finer clinical indications, however, fade into insignificance beside the data that can and should be obtained from laboratory tests.