• Moss J

• Drug Contamination
• Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome
• Quinolinic Acid
• Tryptophan

In closing part II of this series I left you with some very compelling data from the study "Tryophan metabolism via the kynurenine pathway in patients with the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome" by Silver et al which suggests that the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) crisis in the late '80s was more than just an issue of isolated batches of contaminated L-tryptophan supplements. In fact, it may be that EMS patients presented with major pre-existing alteration in tryptophan metabolism that created a susceptibiluty that made them more prone to adverse reactions to both contaminated and uncontaminated L-tryptophan supplements. Now I would like to present selected quotes from the discussion section of that paper which offer the author's interpretation of a data set that flies squarely in the face of the generally accepted conclusion derived over 20 years ago that elimination of the contaminant in L-tryptophan supplements totally eliminated the risk of developing EMS in all populations when these supplements are ingested. 

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