[Skin manifestations of toxic syndrome due to denatured rapeseed oil].

This article offered an extensive description of the clinical and pathological features and time-course of the skin manifestations of toxic syndrome caused by denatured rapeseed oil, also known as toxic oil syndrome. This new condition occurred in Spain in 1981 and was due to the ingestion of rapeseed oil intended for industrial use that had been denatured with anilines and subsequently refined and sold fraudulently as olive oil. In total, 20,000 cases and 400 deaths were reported. The disease affected mainly women, particularly in the late stages. In the acute phase, the predominant skin manifestations were toxic-allergic rashes reminiscent of allergic urticaria in the dermatopathologic study. In approximately 25% of cases, the patients' skin subsequently took on an edematous appearance, with pigmentary abnormalities shown to be related to cutaneous mucinosis. Finally, a characteristic sclerodermatous condition would develop that tended to improve spontaneously. The constant presence of mast cells in all biopsies and the development of mastocytosis in several patients pointed to an important role for these cells in the pathogenesis of the condition. This was subsequently confirmed in other sclerodermatous processes. In 1989, eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome caused by toxins present in tryptophan food supplements was reported in the United States. This syndrome resembled toxic oil syndrome in many ways and demonstrated that mucinosis and toxic sclerodermatous processes do exist.