Exposure of neural tissue to excessive amounts of benzyl alcohol has been associated with toxicity and in rare events has resulted in death. Adverse reactions
Adverse reactions may overshadow the therapeutic effects of methylprednisolone. Central nervous system
There is minimal clinical diagnostic criteria to define the psychic adverse effects (PAE) associated with methylprednisolone use in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The  prevalence varies from 1.3 to 62% of adult treated patients. The type and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms also varies significantly between patients, with 33% of patients reporting mild to moderate PAE and 5-10% reporting severe PAE. Methylprednisolone dose and duration have been implicated in PAE development. 20 mg/day of prednisone (16 mg/day of methylprednisolone) is the threshold dosage for PAE development agreed upon by many studies. Short-term pulse IV therapy at high doses is associated with rapid onset of manic and hypomanic symptoms, whereas long term therapy gives rise to depressive symptoms (suicide attempts infrequent). PAE are reversible with treatment reduction or discontinuation. Metabolic and endocrine
Iatrogenic Cushings Syndrome is a direct complication of glucocorticoid therapy, and the most common cause of exogenous Cushings Syndrome. Clinical features of Cushings Syndrome is inclusive of many adverse effects in glucocorticoid therapy. Traditional symptoms include weight gain, myopathy, osteoporosis, increased risk of infection, hypertension and psychological effect. Fat deposition is centralized on the trunk, in between shoulders ("buffalo hump"), and on the face ("moon face"). Patient education and provider monitoring is the first step in recognizing and diagnosing Iatrogenic Cushings Syndrome.
Areas with especially high rates include eastern Long Island, Fire Island, Nantucket Island, and Marthas Vineyard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now requires state health departments to report infections using Form OMB No. 0920-0728. In 2014, Rhode Island had an incidence of 16.3 reported infections per 100,000 people.In Europe, B. divergens is the primary cause of infectious babesiosis and is transmitted by I. ricinus.Babesiosis has emerged in Lower Hudson Valley, New York, since 2001.In Australia, one locally-acquired case of B. microti has been reported, which was fatal. A subsequent investigation found no additional evidence of human Babesiosis in over 7000 patient samples, leading the authors to conclude that Babesiosis was rare in Australia. A similar disease in cattle, commonly known as tick fever, is spread by Babesia bovis and B. bigemina in the introduced cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus. This disease is found in eastern and northern Australia. Isolated cases
A table of isolated cases of babesiosis, which may be underestimated given how widely distributed the tick vectors are in temperate latitudes. History
The disease is named for the genus of the causative organism, which was named after the Romanian bacteriologist Victor Babeș. In 1888, Victor Babeș identified the microorganisms in red blood cells as the cause of febrile hemoglobinuria in cattle. In 1893, Theobald Smith and Frederick Kilborne discovered that a tick was the vector for transmission in Texas cattle. The agent was B. bigemina.