Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis is an extremely rare autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of small and medium-sized blood vessels in people with allergic sensitivities. Common manifestations include fatigue, fever, weight loss, night sweats, abdominal pain, cough, joint and muscle pain, skin rashes and general malaise, with the disease progressing through allergic, eosinophilic and vasculitic stages that primarily affect the lungs, digestive tract, heart and peripheral nerves. The exact mechanisms behind the abnormal immune activity targeting blood vessels remain incompletely understood. Pathologists Jacob Churg and Lotte Strauss identified the condition in 1951 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, originally calling it allergic granulomatosis; the modern name removes the eponymous reference, reflecting current medical nomenclature practice.