title: [Toxic oil syndrome--an example of an exogenously-induced autoimmune disease].
abstract: In 1981 epidemic poisoning with adulterated cooking oil occurred in Spain, affecting more than 20,000 people. The condition caused has since become known as the toxic oil syndrome (TOS). About 10-15% of the patients with acute symptoms developed a chronic disease with scleroderma-like skin manifestations, polyneuropathy and myositis. While the acute phase of the TOS was characterized by eosinophilia and elevated IgE, the chronic stage involved humoral autoimmune phenomena, such as antinuclear and antinucleolar antibodies, in many cases. In women with the chronic phase of TOS there was a possible prevalence of HLA-DR3 and HLA-DR4. The recently characterized eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS), which is thought to have been induced by contaminated L-tryptophan preparations, is similar to the TOS in some particulars. Understanding of the toxicological, immunological and genetic pathways leading to these diseases might give us some insight into the pathogenesis of spontaneously occurring autoimmune diseases, such as systemic scleroderma.
authors.affiliation: W.M. Keck Autoimmune Disease Center, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, Scripps Research Foundation, La Jolla, Kalifornien.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meurer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000032:analysis*; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000276:immunology; D001937:Brassica; D016603:Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000276:immunology; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D005506:Food Contamination; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000506:poisoning*; D000074262:Rapeseed Oil; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000276:immunology; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D006680:HLA Antigens; D010938:Plant Oils; D000074262:Rapeseed Oil
vernacular_title: Das Toxische-Ol-Syndrom ("toxic oil syndrome")--Beispiel einer exogen induzierten Autoimmunerkrankung.