Idiopathic oedema with increased cytokine production: a pathogenetic link?

We describe four patients with idiopathic oedema and elevated cytokines. All patients shared increased serum concentrations of soluble interleukin-2 receptors (sIL-2R). In three patients tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) were transiently elevated. There was no evidence for an underlying disease. Based on experimental and clinical data it is hypothesized that oedema formation in our patients is the consequence of cytokine induced alteration of endothelial cells.