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Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases—clinically diverse and histopathologically confounding

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Abstract

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases are a group of chronic diseases characterized by a range of symptoms caused by eosinophilic inflammation of various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Other causes for eosinophilia need to be ruled out prior to making the diagnosis of EGIDs. The most common form of EGID is eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), an antigen-driven disease that afflicts children and adults and has been identified across the world. Histological features include dense eosinophilia of the esophageal mucosa, eosinophil degranulation, eosinophil microabscess formation, and other features of epithelial inflammation including basal zone hyperplasia and rete pege elongation. Treatments include dietary exclusions and topical corticosteroids.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Chris Woods for expert microphotographic assistance. We thank Lindsay Hosford for her expertise in immunohistochemical staining.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Allergy, Immunology, Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Seema Aceves

  2. Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, CA, USA

    Seema Aceves

  3. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Ikuo Hirano

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Digestive Health Institute Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Diseases Program Mucosal Inflammation Program Children’s Hospital Colorado, 13123 East 16th Ave B290 Aurora, CO, USA National Jewish Health, Denver, USA

    Glenn T. Furuta

  5. Department of Pathology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Margaret H. Collins

  6. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Margaret H. Collins

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  1. Seema Aceves
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  2. Ikuo Hirano
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  3. Glenn T. Furuta
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  4. Margaret H. Collins
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Correspondence to Glenn T. Furuta.

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This article is published as part of the Special Issue on Food Allergy [34:6].

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Aceves, S., Hirano, I., Furuta, G.T. et al. Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases—clinically diverse and histopathologically confounding. Semin Immunopathol 34, 715–731 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00281-012-0324-x

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