Discovery May Yield Therapy for Mysterious Digestive Disorder

2006-02-01 16:59 (New York)

By Jeffrey Tannenbaum

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Jori Kodroff, 13, needs a better
treatment for an unusual illness that requires her to take
powerful drugs that may weaken her bones.
Scientists today said a research finding may lead to the
improved treatment for inflammatory disease that affects Jori's
digestive system. While Jori can swallow some types of food,
many victims of the disease must adhere to liquid diets
delivered through artificial feeding tubes.
Reporting in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the
researchers said blocking a protein called eotaxin-3 that is
produced at a hundred times the normal level in people with the
disorder may produce new treatments for children like Jori. The
disease, called eosininophilic esophagitis, inflames the
esophagus, which carries food to the stomach.
After identifying a genetic difference in people with the
disease, the scientists conducted experiments in which mice
deficient in receptors for the protein proved to have protection
from the inflammation. The research implies that the disease
might be combated in humans by blocking the body's receptors for
the protein.
``This is a fundamental breakthrough on a disease that has
been mysterious,'' said the research leader, Marc Rothenberg, in
a telephone interview today. ``We are one step closer to a
targeted therapy that will be effective for this disease.''
Rothenberg, 45-year-old director of the allergy and
immunology division at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical
Division, said drug makers have already been working on
medicines to block the same receptors in connection with asthma.
Tests of those drugs in the esophagus disorder may begin within
a year, he said.

`Important First Step'

``Understanding the genetic profile of a disease such as EE
is an important first step toward developing new ways to
diagnose and treat it,'' said Anthony Fauci, director of the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, based in
Bethesda, Maryland, in a statement today.
About one in 2,000 people under the age of 19 has the
disease, according to Rothenberg. The affliction is often
confused with other forms of esophagitis such as
gastroesophageal reflux disease, the researchers said. Those
disorders occur when stomach acids back up into the esophagus.
Ellyn Kodroff, Jori's 47-year-old mother in Buffalo Grove,
Illinois, said she hopes the research leads to better treatment.
``I'd rather not have my daughter on two forms of
steroids,'' with the threat of developing osteoporosis, a
disease that weakens bones, as a side effect, Kodroff said in a
telephone interview.

Parents' Campaign

Kodroff and her husband, Fred, started Campaign Urging
Research for Eosinophilic Disease, a foundation that raised
$205,000 toward the study, she said. The researchers said they
also received money from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, U.S.
agencies including the NIAID, and the Food Allergy and
Anaphylaxis Network.
Rothenberg said drug companies that are working on the
blocking drugs in connection with asthma include GlaxoSmithKine
Plc, Roche Holding AG, Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., and
Cambridge Antibody Technology Group Plc.
The same compounds may now be used in clinical trials for
treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis, Rothenberg said. Trials
may begin within a year, and new treatment for the disease might
emerge within five years, he said.
Currently, patients with the disease, many of whom have
food allergies, usually must go on special diets. These often
include liquids such as EleCare, a formula produced by the Ross
division of Abbott Laboratories. In addition, many patients must
take anti-inflammatory drugs such as prednisone, a steroid sold
by numerous companies. While the disease doesn't kill, it
prevents many people from normal eating, and can affect growth,
Rothenberg said.

White Blood Cell

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell. Kodroff said
disorders associated with the cells can affect many organs, not
just the esophagus. Kodroff said her daughter, Jori, had stomach
aches and nausea and was initially diagnosed with celiac
disease, an intestinal disorder.
While Jori can eat many normal foods, others with the
disease can't. Rothenberg said eating through artificial tubes
becomes an ordeal for many, although the disease isn't life
threatening.