Episodic angioedema with eosinophilia (Gleich syndrome)

A case of episodic angioedema with hypereosinophilia or otherwise called Gleich's syndrome is reported. The patient was a young woman with a six-year history of recurrent angioedema, itchy urticaria, rapid weight gain and hypereosinophilia. The main clinical, laboratory, and immunological findings included systemic angioedema, urticaria, 12% weight gain and leucocytosis (69.150 WBC/cu mm) with eosinophils of 75.6%. Circulating IgM, IgE, and T-helper lymphocyte were elevated. Skin biopsy showed an important perivascular eosinophil infiltration. The absence of concomitant allergic, malignant and connective disorders, and a dramatic clinical improvement with a fall of the eosinophil count to normal levels following corticosteroid therapy was the basis for our diagnosis.