Daily AncestorGeneral paralysis of the insane
General paralysis of the insane, or paresis, was late-stage syphilis of the brain, causing dementia, paralysis and death, often in an asylum.
Doctors first described it in the early 1800s and blamed bad character. Its link to syphilis was found in the late 1880s. Until treatment arrived in the 1910s to 1940s it was always fatal, and it was the main diagnosis of as many as a quarter of the residents of public mental hospitals.
IPUMS codes paralysis of the insane and dementia paralysis together in its scheme for the 1850 to 1880 mortality schedules. Asylum records also write G.P.I. or general paresis.
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Daily Ancestor. "General paralysis of the insane." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/general-paralysis-of-the-insane. Last checked 2026-10-10.