Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome

A complex systemic syndrome with inflammatory and autoimmune components that affect the skin, fascia, muscle, nerve, blood vessels, lung, and heart.  The varied symptoms include severe muscle pain and abnormally high numbers of eosinophils. This disease has presented itself only in people taking the amino acid l-tryptophan and it is believed that a specific impurity in lots of l-tryptophan made by a single manufacturer may be the cause of the syndrome.

  © On-line Medical Dictionary

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 Initial Symptoms

  • Acute pain

  • Elevated eosinophil count 
    (a type of white blood cell that is usually found when a toxin or parasitic infection is present)

  • Severe myalgias
    (muscle cramps and muscle pain)

  • Myofascial pain syndrome
    (a condition characterized by chronic pain in the muscle tissues, similar to fibromyalgia)

  • Neuropathy 
    (a problem with functioning of the nerves.Symptoms include numbness, weakness, burning pain especially at night and loss of reflexes)                             

  • Neurologic pain in joints

  • Tremor, Myoclonus
    (abnormal repetitive shaking and contraction of muscles or portions of muscles)

  • Peripheral edema
    (the swelling of soft tissues as the result of excess water accumulation in the extremities)

  • Paresthesias
    (an abnormal sensation of the body, such as numbness, tingling, or burning)

  • Fasciitis
    (a tenderness & swelling of the extremities which occurs when eosinophils infiltrate the fibrous layer surrounding the muscle and the muscle itself)

  • Morphia
    (patches of yellow or ivory colored rigid dry skin which become hard and slightly depressed. When generalized can cause underlying muscles to tighten & atrophy)

  • Low grade fever

  • Pulmonary disorders
    (having to do with the lungs)

  • Rashes

  • Weakness & severe fatigue

  • Gastro-intestinal disorders
    (referring to the stomach and intestines)

  • Cardiac arrhythmias

  • Hair loss

  • Despnea or cough

  • Headache

 

  

   Later Symptoms

 

  • Neurocognitive Dysfunction
    (short term memory loss, concentration & communication problems)

  • Chronic Myalgias & Arthralgias
    (muscle & joint pain)

  • Severe Axonal Neuropathies
    (pain along the long fiber of a nerve cell (a neuron) that acts somewhat like a fiber-optic cable carrying outgoing messages to the body)

  • Cardiomyopathy
    (disease of the heart muscle)

  • Chronic liver disease- Cirrhosis
    (irreversible scarring of the liver)

  • Internal Fibrosis
    (excessive growth of hard, fibrous tissue that replaces normal bone tissue in a single bone.Symptoms include pain and bone fracturing)

  • Pulmonary Hypertension
    (high blood pressure)

  • Desmoid Tumor
    (benign soft tissue tumors which intertwine extensively with the surrounding tissues)

  • Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma
    (a rare disorder in which histiocytes start to multiply & attack the person's own tissue or organs resulting in tissue damage, fatigue and other symptoms)

  • Scleroderma-like Syndrome
    (a disease of connective tissue (fibrosis) in the skin and sometimes also in other organs of the body)

  • Fibromyalgia Syndrome
    (chronically causes pain, stiffness, and tenderness of muscles, tendons, and joints without detectable inflammation)

  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
    (a psychological disorder that develops in individuals who have had major traumatic experiences)

  • Depression

  • Visual & Dental problems

  • Sleeping Disorders