Breakthrough for picky eaters: Hope for children with EoE

NEW ORLEANS, La. (Ivanhoe Newswire) - We've all seen them and some of us have one at home: picky eaters. A toddler that just won't eat, no matter what you put on their plate.

Well, it may be just a phase, or it may be something more serious. A condition known as EoE affects one in 1,500 kids. They actually have an allergic reaction that won't allow food to go down their esophagus. It can lead to malnutrition, weight loss, and even impact their growth. But now, doctors have found what causes it and possibly how to fix it.

Is your child a picky eater?

But what if they didn't like eating because they couldn't swallow? Thousands of children are living with something called eosinophilic esophagitis, or EoE.

"EoE is pretty much a very much unknown disease. In the starting, it was known as the reflex disease," explained Anil Mishra, PhD from the Tulane School of Medicine

Now researchers know it's an inflammatory disease caused by food and airborne allergens, and it can make life very difficult.

"They are living their life very sick. A lot of parents still don't understand," said Mishra.

The allergens cause the esophagus to shorten and the walls to thicken, causing food to get stuck in the throat. Researchers at Tulane University found this reaction involves a protein called IL18 that triggers the release of cells that damage the esophagus. Their study found a way to stop the cells' release and prevented the development of EoE. The study showed that when treating the disease in mice, they were able to put EoE into full remission, and now, if this works in people, researchers believe it can be life changing for thousands of children and their families.

Diagnosing EoE can be tricky. There's no single test, and symptoms like trouble swallowing, chest pain, and heartburn can mimic other conditions. Often, an endoscopy with biopsies, where a tiny tissue sample is examined, is needed to confirm the presence of those telltale eosinophils.