(exerpt from language from Congress to NIH)
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Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome
–– Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome is a multi-systemic disorder that was first recognized in 1989. The conferees encourage NIAMS to enhance research efforts to identify the cause of this disease and develop a better understanding of the characterization of pathophysiological events leading to the chronic phase of the disease.Action taken or to be taken
Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS), also known as Shulman's syndrome, is a rheumatic condition which leads to inflammation and thickening of the skin and fascia, the lining tissue under the skin. Individuals with EMS often experience debilitating muscle pain, as well as progressive hardening of the skin surface. An intense infiltration of muscle and other tissues by eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, is characteristic of this disease. Several components of the NIH support research on the eosinophil structure, function, and role in disease. Many currently funded projects focus on the mechanisms directing locomotion, adhesion, and migration of eosinophils in organs and tissues such as the lungs and muscle. The role of these cells in other immunoinflammatory conditions, such as asthma and parasitic infections, may provide clues to the mechanism of disease in EMS.
At present, the NIAMS does not support any projects specifically looking at EMS, but the Institute is funding considerable research on diseases with symptoms similar to those present in EMS patients. For example, changes in the skin associated with EMS resemble those seen in the early stages of scleroderma, a group of diseases that involve the abnormal growth of connective tissue. Work supported by the NIAMS is focused on the investigation of early signals that induce edema of the vascular wall, the migration of white cells to the skin, and the role of different cell types in the production of mediators of skin edema and inflammation. Insights from these studies may have implications for EMS.