Eosinophilic Esophagitis: From Rookie of the Year to Household Name

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is now past the stage of being a hot new disease. It is close to becoming part of the list of standard diseases that all gastroenterologists should recognize and be able to treat. Part of the reason for such a rapid evolution has been how much we have learned about this disease. For example, a food allergy–based etiology has been well-characterized in patients.¹ Typical clinical, demographic, and endoscopic criteria have been described to point toward diagnosis. Effective medical treatments based on either allergen avoidance and/or pharmacologic suppression of the allergic reaction and a safe means of stricture dilation have been described. An elegant animal model has been developed.⁸ There are already natural history data for the disease.⁹ Finally, both the immunologic and genetic pathways in EE have been elucidated to a large degree. The fact that all this information could be obtained within 15 years of the disease description is a testament to modern science and a handful of investigators who have made EE one of their life's passions.