Because children with EoE are often allergic to many foods, they may be limited to an elemental formula containing no large food proteins, to allow time for their symptoms to resolve. Physicians then perform tests to determine which foods a child can or cannot eat.

"Eosinophilic esophagitis is a highly allergic disease, and one that is rapidly expanding," said allergist Jonathan M. Spergel, M.D., a co-first author of the study, who sees large numbers of patients with EoE as director of the Center for Pediatric Eosinophilic Disorders at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "This is the first genome-wide association study done on this disease, and now that we have elucidated a gene pathway, the hope is that physicians can eventually intervene in that pathway and discover a new treatment."

The National Institutes of Health provided funding support for this study, along with the Food Allergy Project, the Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disorders (CURED) Foundation, the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Chair's Institute, the Buckeye Foundation, and the Cotswold Foundation.

"Common variants at 5q22 associate with pediatric eosinophilic esophagitis," Nature Genetics, published online March 7, 2010. dx.doi/10.1038/ng.547

Source: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia