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Postvaccinial encephalomyelitis without cutaneous vaccination reaction
Author(s) -
Rockoff A.,
Spigland I.,
Lorenstein B.,
Rose A. L.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410050116
Subject(s) - medicine , encephalitis , stupor , acute disseminated encephalomyelitis , hemiparesis , encephalomyelitis , lesion , pediatrics , vaccination , plasmapheresis , brain biopsy , cerebrospinal fluid , surgery , anesthesia , immunology , pathology , biopsy , antibody , multiple sclerosis , virus , vomiting
A 5‐year‐old girl developed a progressive febrile neurological illness consisting of right focal seizures, right hemiparesis, and stupor evolving over a period of six weeks. During the month preceding the onset of her illness she had received two apparently unsuccessful smallpox vaccinations without a skin lesion. Elevation of cerebrospinal fluid gamma globulin and findings on brain biopsy were consistent with postinfectious encephalitis, and a simultaneous increase in serum vacinia antibody titer suggested that the illness was postvaccinial encephalitis. Clinically, the child developed a severe extrapyramidal movement disorder during the acute phase followed by nine months of stuporous unresponsiveness, yet subsequently made a substantial recovery.