A night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury: a case of multiple intracranial aneurysms.

A 62-year-old African American woman presented to her primary care physician with binocular photopsias increasing in frequency over 1 year. Magnetic resonance angiography of the brain revealed bilateral 3-mm internal carotid artery aneurysms. She was referred to vascular medicine for further work-up. Her physical examination was unremarkable except for a right-sided femoral bruit. Specific testing for causes of multiple intracranial aneurysms was unremarkable except for positive rapid plasma reagin titers and fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption staining. She was referred to Infectious Diseases clinic where it was determined that the patient had a history of congenital syphilis that was not adequately treated until almost 20 years after birth. Few case reports illustrate the relationship between syphilis and intracranial aneurysms. The authors present this case to increase awareness of this uncommon presentation.