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Severe adverse reaction to yellow fever (YF) vaccine includes the yellow fever vaccine-associated neurotropic disease. This terminology includes postvaccinal encephalitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. The objective of this communication is to report a patient who received a YF vaccine in Argentina and subsequently developed longitudinal myelitis with a symptom that had previously gone unreported in the literature. A 56-year-old man began with progressive paraparesia, urinary retention, and constipation 48 h previous to admission. The patient received YF vaccine 45 days prior to the onset of the symptoms. There was no history of other immunization or relevant condition. MR of the spine showed longitudinal intramedullary hyperintense signal (D5-12) without gadolinium enhancement. A high concentration of YFV-specific IgM vaccine antibody was found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Serological tests for other flavivirus were negative. A diagnosis of longitudinal myelitis without encephalitis associated with YF vaccine was performed and symptoms improved 5 days later. This is the first report dealing with longitudinal myelitis as a serious adverse event associated with YF vaccination in which confirmation of the presence of antibodies in CSF was found. To date, it is also the first report with serological confirmation in Argentina and in South America. We consider that the present investigation will raise awareness in the region in the reporting of adverse events related to YF vaccine and improve our knowledge of adverse reactions to the vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Lecythis pisonis Camb. (Lecythidaceae), is popularly known as "Sapucaia". In traditional medicine, leaves are used for the treatment of pruritus., Aim of the Study: The present study is aimed to investigate the antipruritic effect of the ethanol extract from leaves of Lecythis pisonis (LPEE), fractions (hexane-LPHF, ether-LPEF and ethyl acetate-LPEAF) and mixture of triterpenes [ursolic and oleanolic acids (MT)] in mice and rats., Materials and Methods: The LPEE, LPHF, LPEF, LPEAF and MT were evaluated on scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 in mice. In addition, LPEE, LPEF and MT were investigated on rat peritoneal mast cells degranulation induced by compound 48/80 (ex vivo study). The anti-inflammatory activity of LPEE and LPEF was investigated in rats using carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model. In the evaluation of the spontaneous motor activity, the LPEE was studied for its effect on spontaneous motor activity in an open-field test in mice., Results: The scratching behavior induced by compound 48/80 was significantly inhibited in mice pretreated with LPEE, LPHF, LPEF, LPEAF and MT. The suppressive effect of LPEE, LPEF and MT was only partially antagonized by naloxone. In addition, the compound 48/80-elicited degranulation of rat peritoneal mast cells was also markedly reduced in animals pretreated with LPEE, LPEF and MT. In the anti-inflammatory test, LPEE decreased the paw edema at the third hour after carrageenan (Carr) administration. Moreover, LPEF also was able to inhibit the oedematogenic response evoked by carr at all analysed time points. In the open-field test, LPEE-pretreated mice showed no impairment of spontaneous locomotion. Furthermore, the LPEE demonstrated no overt toxicity up to an oral dose of 2g/kg in an acute toxicity assay., Conclusions: These results clearly indicate the antipruritic effects of Lecythis pisonis leaves and suggest that this effect may be related to a stabilizing action on mast cell membrane. Furthermore, these data support the traditional use of this plant against cutaneous pruritus., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)