Digestive Disease Makes Food Unbearable For Sufferers (NAPSA)—Imagine having difficulty swallowing every time you eat. Imagine it being so bad that the food becomes blocked by an inflamed esophagus, the organ that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. This is how some people suffering from a condition known as eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) live every day. For people with EoE, food or allergens from the environment become deadly invaders, irritating the esophagus, making swallowing difficult and producing heartburn. Food can get stuck in a person’s throat, requiring a trip to the emergency room to remove the Understanding EoE The most common symptoms, particularly for children, are feeding disorders, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Symptomscan be so severethat a patient is physically incapable of eating normally. Other symptoms mayinclude: Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) Food impactions (food getting stuck in the esophagus) Reflux that does not respondto proton pumpinhibitor therapy Failure to thrive (poor growth or weightloss) Poor appetite Malnutrition Difficulty sleeping obstruction. In severe cases, a what was causing him to beill. EoE is an emerging gastroin- nity has learned much more about this very serious disease that robs people of their ability to enjoy something the rest of us take for granted every day,” said Beth Mays, president and founder of the American Partnership for patient must eliminate all food from his or her diet and be fed a formula through a tube into the stomach. Theinability to consume food without problemscan lead to poor growth in children and weightloss in adults. testinal disease. Doctors and medical researchers arestill investigating the causes and number of patients with this disease. Most gastrointestinal specialists have seen a dramatic rise in the number of patients diagnosed with EoE over the last decade. Due to increased awareness, the number of patients identified with EoE mayactually be higher than wellrecognized inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease. “Nine years ago, when my son was diagnosed with an eosinophilic disorder, it was a tremendous struggle to finally identify Since then, the medical commu- Eosinophilic Disorders, an organi- zation supporting patients and their families coping with eosinophilic disorders. EoE can be hard to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), food allergies and inflammatory bowel disease. Often, doctors and parents will go through a series of treatments before arriving at a diagnosis of EoE. EoE can be diagnosed using a biopsy, which is a medical test involving the removal of cells or tissues for examination. “EoE has emerged as oneof the leading causes of food impaction for adults and a very important cause of symptoms that don’t respond to typical treatments for GERD,” said Dr. Glenn Furuta, director, The Children’s Hospital, National Jewish Health, Gastrointestinal Eosinophil Diseases Program.” “Ten years ago we knew very little about it. If someone showed EoE-like symptoms, we well may have diagnosed it as GERD. I’m happy to say that we are better at recognizing the dis- ease and thus there is now a brighter future for children and adults with EoE.” While there is no FDAapproved drug to treat patients with EoE, there are treatments specific for EoE being studied in people. One such potential drug, currently in clinical trials for pediatric EoE, is oral viscous budes- onide (OVB), a new formulation of a drug already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in many other forms for the treatment of allergic diseases. OVBis designed to deliver budesonide to the esophagus, the site of the allergic reaction, and is intended to treat the inflammation and symptoms associated with pediatric EoE. The effects of EoE can inhibit patients and their caregivers from going about their daily lives. It is important for people experiencing EoE to consult a physician. Those interested in helping to shape the future of EoE treatment can participate in EoE clinical trials by visiting www.clinicaltrials.gov and speaking with their doctor.
