Adjuvants are essential in contemporary medicine for the enhancement of the immune response, the effect being particularly important in the case of vaccines. Adjuvants stimulate both the innate and the acquired immune response. The ideal adjuvant should increase the immune response without causing a specific immune response against itself or an adverse reaction. However, observations in recent years have shown the impact of adjuvants on the development of autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRD), as well as other recognized syndromes such as Gulf War syndrome (GWS), macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF), and fibromyalgia (FB). Many reports indicate that the use of silicone implants may also result in the development of the hyperreactive immune response known as ‘siliconosis’. It is proposed that these clinical situations – separate, yet at the same time displaying similar features – should be covered by a common definition: autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA).