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Chronic immune activation in the eosinophiliamyalgia syndrome
Author(s) -
McKinley Kevin L.,
Harati Yadollah,
Schneider Larry W.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880160910
Subject(s) - immune system , medicine , immunology
Eosinophilia–myalgia syndrome (EMS) is a multisystem illness of uncertain pathogenesis that occurred in an epidemic related to the ingestion of contaminated L ‐tryptophan. To investigate the role of immune dysfunction in EMS we prospectively measured a serologic index of T‐cell activation, the soluble interleukin‐2 receptor (slL‐2R), in 7 patients followed into the late stages of the illness. As a group, EMS patients had significantly elevated slL‐2R levels throughout the study. Five patients suffered chronic symptoms of myalgia, arthralgia, muscle cramps, fatigue, or subjective memory impairment and all had persistently elevated slL‐2R levels. Two patients had near‐resolution of EMS and normal slL‐2R levels. We conclude that chronic symptoms are common in EMS and are associated with persistent T‐cell activation as measured by serum slL‐2R levels. These findings suggestthat immunosuppressive treatment may be beneficial in EMS. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.