[Episodic angioedema with eosinophilia].
In 1984, Gleich et al. originally reported a novel syndrome of episodic angioedema with eosinophilia. The syndrome is characterized by recurrent angioedema, urticaria, weight gain, elevated IgM levels, marked blood eosinophilia, and eosinophil infiltrates in the dermis. It has also been observed that activated CD4+ T cells are present in the dermis of patients with this syndrome, suggesting that T cell-derived cytokines especially IL-5 might be involved in the migration and activation of eosinophils in the skin. Indeed, it has recently been reported that serum IL-5 levels elevate during clinical exacerbation of this syndrome. However, it still remains to be elucidated what antigen periodically activates CD4+ T cells, what factor(s) determine selective migration of eosinophils into the skin, and so on.
Tomoe
S
S
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Chiba University School of Medicine.
Iwamoto
I
I
D000799:Angioedema / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D013577:Syndrome; D014581:Urticaria / Q000473:pathology