Vol.21 No.3

Review Article

The sick building syndrome as a part of the autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants

Authors

Eitan Israeli¹ , Asher Pardo²

Received:

21 September 2010

Accepted:

25 October 2010

Published online:

29 December 2010

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Abstract

Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a term coined for a set of clinically recognizable symptoms and ailments without a clear cause reported by occupants of a building. In the 1990s the term “functional somatic syndromes” was applied to several syndromes, including SBS, multiple chemical sensitivity, repetition stress injury, the side effects of silicone breast implants, the Gulf War syndrome (GWS), chronic fatigue syndrome, the irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Recently, Shoenfeld and Agmon-Levin suggested that four conditions?siliconosis, macrophagic myofascitis, the GWS, and post-vaccination phenomena?which share clinical and pathogenic resemblances, may be included under a common syndrome entitled the “autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants”. Comparison of the clinical manifestations, symptoms, and signs of the four conditions described by Shoenfeld and Agmon-Levin with those described for SBS shows that nine out of ten main symptoms are present in all 5 conditions. Shoenfeld and Agmon-Levin further propose several major and minor criteria, which, although requiring further validation, may aid in the diagnosis of this newly defined syndrome. We propose here that SBS may also be included as a part of “Shoenfeld’s syndrome”.

Key words

Sick building syndrome - ASIA - Adjuvants - Autoimmune - Vaccination