A Rare Case of Toxic Myositis Associated with Influenza Vaccination.

The influenza vaccine is one of the most commonly administered vaccines worldwide, with a high safety profile. However, rare cases of serious adverse events have been reported in the literature. We report a 77-year-old male who presented with progressive weakness in the lower extremities shortly after receiving the Influenza vaccine. He was diagnosed with myositis involving the paraspinal and bilateral lower extremity muscles. He received treatment with high-dose steroids and taper with full recovery of his muscle weakness. Although the exact causal mechanism between the vaccine and the patient's myositis could not be established, surveillance for such rare adverse events can provide data for future vaccine safety improvement. Due to well-known benefits of the Influenza vaccine that far exceed the potential adverse effects, we strongly encourage the readers to continue their vaccine practices as per CDC guidelines.

New-onset seizures: an unusual neurologic manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory condition primarily affecting the musculoskeletal system but can often involve other organ systems as well. Rheumatoid meningitis is a rare central nervous system (CNS) manifestation of RA characterized by pachymeningeal and leptomeningeal enhancement. Herein, we present a case of a 64-year-old male who presented with left lower extremity weakness and witnessed seizures. The diagnostic work-up, including lumbar puncture, brain MRI and meningeal biopsy ruled out malignancy and were consistent with the diagnosis of rheumatoid meningitis. The patient was discharged on high-dose steroids along with anti-seizure medications. On subsequent follow-up visits, the patient remained seizure-free.

Lupus Podocytopathy: A Rare Cause of Nephrotic Syndrome in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Lupus podocytopathy, a unique form of lupus nephritis, mimics minimal change disease (MCD) or primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and represents approximately 1% of lupus nephritis biopsies. Lupus podocytopathy is characterized by diffuse epithelial cell foot process effacement without immune complex deposition or with only mesangial immune complex deposition. We present the case of a young woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who presented with nephrotic syndrome and acute kidney injury (AKI) and was subsequently diagnosed with lupus podocytopathy.