Digestive Allergic Disorder Rising in Kids

August 30, 2004

0826/hl_hsn/digestiveallergicdisorderrisinginkids

An allergic inflammatory disease of the esophagus triggered by immune cells

may be on the rise among U.S. children, a new study finds.

The chronic disorder, called eosinophilic esophagitis (EE), is characterized

by irritation and inflammation of the esophagus, the tube that carries food

from the throat to the stomach. As the esophagus narrows, children with EE

suffer discomfort and difficulty when swallowing food, and vomiting is not

uncommon.

Rates for the disease appear to be on the rise. The percentage of children

affected with EE may now outrank those with better-known gastrointestinal

ailments such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, according to the

study...

.... only 2.8 percent having been identified before 2000, " Rothenberg said.

Many of the cases were clustered in families, usually among siblings. This

could point to " either genetic links or shared environment " as possible

factors, he said.

By the end of 2003, more than four of every 10,000 children in the

Cincinnati area were estimated to suffer from EE -- a number similar to that

of more common chronic gastrointestinal ailments...

The disease isn't confined to children, either. " It's possible that many

cases of GERD in adults are [undiagnosed] EE, that's been unexplored as of

yet, " Rosenwasser said.

EE is characterized by the abnormal proliferation in the esophagus of

eosinophils, which are inflammatory immune cells. Because symptoms often

mimic those of gastrointestinal esophageal reflux disorder (GERD), EE is

often mistaken for pediatric GERD...

children are treated with antacids and proton pump inhibitor drugs (like

Prilosec) to help ease gastrointestinal symptoms, and anti-allergy drugs to

help fight the underlying cause of the disorder...

" We have to find out why these eosinophils are collecting in the esophagus, "

Rosenwasser said,...

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