The discovery of the cause of the disease general paresis was significant because it represented the first time that a disorder with psychological symptoms had an identifiable physical cause.

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The discovery that the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis, was also responsible for general paresis, demonstrated for the first time that a mental disorder (previously thought to be purely psychiatric) had a clear biological cause, linking physical infection to psychological symptoms.

The Discovery of the Cause of the Disease General Paresis