Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome induced by
excessive L-tryptophan intake from cashew nuts

• Authors: Marko Barešić , Dubravka Bosnić , Marija Bakula , Kamelija Žarković
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Eosinophilia is characterized by more than 0.5
x 109 eosinophils per liter in the full blood count. A wide
range of conditions, from asthma to parasitic infections,
autoimmune diseases, and certain forms of cancer, have
been known to trigger abnormally high amount of eosinophils.
It is essential to reach the correct diagnosis and
treat the underlying disease aggresively. Definition of the
eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome was offered in 1980s by
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance
purposes, and criteria were revised in 2001, with
high specificity. We report a case of 59-year old female who started a
special weight-reducing diet regimen that included excessive
cashew nut ingestion. Several months after she has
presented with periferal blood eosinophilia and constitutional
symptoms. Detailed work-up has not found elements
for haematological, systemic autoimmune, neoplastic or
infectious disease. She was diagnosed with eosinophilia-
myalgia syndrome due to extreme L-tryptophan intake,
a compound found in the cashew nut’s oil. She responded
well to cashew nut withdrawal and steroid therapy. In the
follow-up period she remained stable with normal eosinophil
count and there was not a need for any specific
therapy

Keywords

EN

Hypereosinophilic syndrome; Eosinophiliamyalgiasyndrome; L-tryptophan; Cashew nuts

• Publisher: De Gruyter Open
• Journal: Open Medicine
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1

Dates

online

11 - 11 - 2014

Contributors

author

Marko Barešić

• Division of Clinical Immunology
  and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of
  Medicine, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000
  Zagreb, Croatia

author

Dubravka Bosnić

• Division of Clinical Immunology
  and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of
  Medicine, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000
  Zagreb, Croatia

author

Marija Bakula

• Division of Clinical Immunology
  and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of
  Medicine, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000
  Zagreb, Croatia

author

Kamelija Žarković

• Department of Neuropathology, University Hospital
  Center Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/med-2015-0014