This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

A Clinical Case Series of 21 Patients

Rossanne M. Philen, MD, MS; Millicent Eidson, MA, DVM; Edwin M. Kilbourne; C. Mack Sewell, DrPH, MS; Ron Voorhees, MD, MPH

Arch Intern Med. 1991;151(3):533-537.

Abstract
We reviewed 21 cases of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome to describe the range of clinical findings in these patients. Most patients were women (20 [95%]) and middle-aged (mean, 46 years) and had taken the food supplement L-tryptophan (95%). All cases involved eosinophilia (eosinophil count, 2.0 x 10⁹/L) and incapacitating myalgias. Fourteen (88%) of the 16 patients tested had mild liver function abnormalities. Aldolase levels were abnormal in all patients tested. Muscle biopsies were done in five patients; four showed eosinophilic perimyositis, and one had interstitial inflammation. No physical finding was pathognomonic or universal, but muscle tenderness, tachycardia, and rash were the most common signs found during physical examinations. Seven patients were treated with prednisone, and six showed improvement in muscle pain and a decrease in eosinophilia. The cause of this disorder is still unknown.

(Arch Intern Med. 1991;151:533-537)

Author Affiliations
New Mexico Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome Study Group

From the Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga (Drs Philen and Kilbourne); and the Office of Epidemiology, New Mexico Health and Environment Department, Santa Fe (Drs Eidson, Sewell, and Voorhees).

Footnotes
Accepted for publication September 26, 1990.

Use of trade names is for identification only and does not constitute endorsement by the Public Health Service or the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Reprint requests to Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control, Mailstop F-28, Centers for Disease Control, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30333 (Dr Philen).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

The Natural History of Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome in a Tryptophan-Exposed Cohort in South Carolina
Sullivan et al.
Arch Intern Med 1996;156:973-979.
ABSTRACT  

Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome: Natural History in a Population-Based Cohort
Hedberg et al.
Arch Intern Med 1992;152:1889-1892.
ABSTRACT  

Natural History of the Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome
Culpepper et al.
ANN INTERN MED 1991;115:437-442.
ABSTRACT  

Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome: Follow-up Survey of Patients--New York, 1990-1991
Arch Dermatol 1991;127:1125-1126.
ABSTRACT  

Postmortem Studies of the Heart in Three Fatal Cases of the Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome
James et al.
ANN INTERN MED 1991;115:102-110.
ABSTRACT  

Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome: Follow-up Survey of Patients--New York, 1990-1991
JAMA 1991;266:195-196.