Children with rare inflammatory diseases that prevent them from eating many foods will have the backing of an NIH-funded research network on their side, as Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) joins a $7.75 million clinical research project addressing eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs).
Dr. Robbie Pesek, an assistant professor of allergy and immunology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine who practices at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) and specializes in EGIDs, will serve as the site investigator of the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR), a network of 19 sites with expertise in the disorder. Pesek is also medical director of the Allergy and Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders Clinic at ACH, which has treated nearly 500 children from Arkansas and surrounding states with the disorders since opening in 2012.
“Because this is a rare disease, research that benefits these patients is challenging to orchestrate, and it’s the only way we can learn more about how to help them,” Pesek said. “Joining a network of this scope truly connects patients to each other and improves their care.”
Children will be able to participate in clinical trials that haven’t previously been available to them through the consortium. The grant will also focus on training the next generation of clinicians and researchers studying EGIDs. The consortium will collaborate closely with patient advocacy groups, including the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED), the Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disease (CURED), and the Eosinophilic Family Coalition (EFC), to address the clinical problems of most importance to patients and their families.
Eosinophilic disorders are chronic inflammatory disorders. These conditions are thought to be triggered by allergic hypersensitivity to certain foods and an over-accumulation in the gastrointestinal tract of white blood cells called eosinophils (part of the body’s immune system).
Eosinophilic disorders can cause a variety of gastrointestinal complaints, including reflux-like symptoms, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, tissue scarring, fibrosis, the formation of strictures, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and failure to grow in childhood. When inflammation is in the esophagus, the condition is known as eosinophilic esophagitis. When it is in the stomach, the condition is called eosinophilic gastritis. When it is in the stomach and the esophagus and/or intestines, it is called eosinophilic gastroenteritis. When it is in the colon, it is known as eosinophilic colitis. With the previous grant, researchers studied inflammation in the esophagus, stomach, and colon. The new grant will allow the researchers on these three conditions in addition to eosinophilic gastroenteritis.
Other participating sites include Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Rady Children’s Hospital, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Northwestern University, the National Institutes of Health, Tufts Medical Center, University of North Carolina, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mayo Clinic, University of California, University of Colorado at Denver, University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, University of Utah, and Bern University Switzerland.