“Gluten-Related Disorders” (Part 2)

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Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity NCGS -Focused discussion in Section III
  • No biologically measurable response has been found – these are people with normal celiac serology (neg ttg/ema) and normal biopsies.
  • Specific discussions regarding autism and schizophrenia.  On page 44, authors note that a 2008 Cochrane review concluded the evidence for a gluten-free diet for autism was poor.  In 2012, a two-stage RCT (Whiteley et al) of gluten-free casein-free diet reported significant group improvements after 8 and 12 months on diet. Thus, diet may be helpful.
  • Other chapters allude to NCGS as well.  Page 124: “There are no epidemiologic studies assessing the prevalence of NCGS. Bizzaro et al estimated that for every one person with CD, there are at least six to seven with gluten sensitivity.”
Wheat Allergy -Section IV
  • Forms include oral food allergy, “wheat-dependent, exercise-induced anaphylaxis,” and Baker’s asthma (aerosolized exposure).
  • Skin prick tests or RAST’s are notorious for providing a high rate of false-positive results.  Low rate of false negative results, though, are noted.

Treatment -Section VI:

  • This section provides a number of tables to assist with diet and hidden sources of gluten.
  • GFD may lead to specific nutrient deficiencies: fiber, iron, folate, niacin, zinc, vitamins B12, A, D, E, and K; also, GFD may be higher in fat.

Psychological Aspects -Section VII:

 “The family has to buy gluten-free foods and all members have to learn how to avoid contaminating gluten-free foods, dishes, toasters, and so on.” Parents have to read all food labels and prepare special meals while attending social events.
A nice sample letter is included on page 129 –should make a good EPIC smartphrase.
Difficult Cases -Section VIII:
  • Labs to check in sick CD patient (Table 2 -page 133).
  • Causes of Nonresponse to GFD: poor compliance, accidental ingestions, nonceliac disease causing symptoms.
  • While some of the authors state that true refractory disease is “rare in adults,extremely rare in children,” in other parts of the book it is noted that complete histologic response is not seen in all patients (some with apparently good adherence).

IgA deficiency (page 139).

  • 85-90% of IgA deficient patients have no clinical symptoms.  Occurs in about 1 in 300.  For those with symptoms, manifestations could include sinopulmonary disease, allergy/atopy, autoimmune diseases, giardiasis/infections, and transfusion reactions (against IgA) (see Table 8 on page 143).
  • Transiently low IgA is common in children <4 years.
  • For IgA deficient patients, risk of CD is 10-20 times general population.
  • In true deficiency, level is typically <7 mg/dL.  More often, there is a partial deficiency which is ‘almost always asymptomatic.’  In partial IgA deficiency, IgA assays identify about 90% of CD cases.
Also, in the difficult cases section an algorithm for follow-up of newly diagnosed CD is presented and discussed (page 154).  Recommendations include nutritional counseling, resource identification, family screening, and celiac education.  Consider checking iron status, vitamin D, folate, zinc, copper and DEXA.  Recommends followup serology 6 months following diagnosis and if normal, then on a yearly basis.
Related blog posts:
Disclaimer: These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) and specific medical management interventions should be confirmed by prescribing physician.  Application of the information in a particular situation remains the professional responsibility of the practitioner.

“Gluten-Related Disorders” (Part 1)

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On the way back from our National Meeting (NASPGHAN), I had the opportunity to read “Gluten-Related Disorders” ed. by Alessio Fasano.  The book is a very good summary about the science of celiac disease (CD), wheat allergy, and nonceliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS); at the same time, there is some redundancy due to multiple authors (particularly evident in later chapters). One of the book’s features is clinical vignettes to drive home multiple teaching points.  For example, the ‘refractory’ CD patient who in fact has Crohn’s disease. The book also provides a code to obtain the information online, so it is fully searchable.  In the introduction, there is an in-depth explanation of why gluten can be so difficult for the GI tract.  The discovery that a gluten-free diet can be helpful was a byproduct of wheat shortages during WWII.  Here are some useful insights that were noteworthy:

Definitions (page 9):  reviews the terms “silent CD,” “potential CD,” and “latent CD.”

  • Silent =asymptomatic but with all other features: +antibodies, +HLA type, +abnl histology
  • Potential =+antibodies but lack of histology evidence  (antibodies often precede development of clinical disease)
  • Latent =previous evidence of CD but currently tolerating gluten in diet with normal histology

Epidemiology:

  • While increase in CD is partly due to awareness, there has been a “true increase in prevalence, with rates doubling every 20 years or so.”
  • Early vaccinations are not risk factors for the development of CD
  • Breastfeeding can reduce risk of CD by about 50% though gluten should be introduced between 4-6 months.

Presentation:

  • Table of the main extraintestinal manifestations on page 24.  Most common: anemia (especially iron deficiency), short stature, and pubertal delay.
  • Associated diseases (Table 3, page 29): Down syndrome, Turner syndrome, Type I Diabetes, Williams syndrome, IgA deficiency, and Autoimmune thyroid disease.
  • Eosinophilic esophagitis has been identified in a small number of patients with celiac disease.  The book notes a study with 7 pediatric patients; only one of them improved their esophageal eosinophilia with a GFD.

Tips on diagnosing celiac

  • Bulb abnormalities with a normal 2nd portion of duodenum biopsy can be seen in 10% or more of patients with celiac.  The authors recommend obtaining 4 biopsies from 2nd and 3rd portion and 2 biopsies from bulb (separate containers) (page 144-145).
  • Most celiac experts say there is no celiac without DQ2 or DQ8.  There are several situations in which a negative HLA type could be helpful (page 78)
  1. -negative serology but abnormal histology
  2. -gluten-free diet (GFD) started before diagnosis confirmed
  3. -failure to respond to GFD
  4. -asymptomatic high-risk individuals to help determine if periodic serology is worthwhile
  • In most individuals, obtaining TTG IgA along with serum IgA is recommended for diagnosis (and avoiding older gliadin antibody tests).  If clinical suspicion is high, endoscopy is warranted regardless of result.
  • Under the age of 2, deamidated anti-gliadin antibodies appear months earlier than the TTG in prospective studies, so order the dAGA IgG and dAGA IgA in kids under 2. (Available with both quest and labcorp).  The deamindated anti-gliadin antibodies may be more helpful/sensitive in monitoring dietary adherence than TTG.
  • Infants who have a first degree family member with celiac should be introduced to “small” amounts of gluten between 4 and 6 mos of age – not before and not delayed.  It appears to promote tolerance though it’s not clear if it just delays inevitable onset.  Small amounts can be a serving a day of a mixed, barley baby cereal.
  • Section V is devoted to diagnosis.  Table 1 (page 72) lists the sensitivity/specificity of the available serologies.
  • Screening asymptomatic persons.  The controversy regarding this practice is alluded to on page 75.  Currently NASPGHAN recommends screening at risk groups whereas AGA does not.
  • Endoscopy/Biopsy discussed (pages 78-82).  States a biopsy is not needed in the case of dermatitis herpetiformis due to characteristic deposits of IgA in the dermal papilla.  The authors recommend biopsy in all cases, but review ESPGHAN guidelines which state that biopsy can be omitted if TTG IgA >10 time ULN –if verified by positive EMA, HLA typing, and followed for symptomatic improvement.
  • Antibody tests “become negative in 15% after 1 month on GFD and in 57% after 3 months…diagnosis of CD cannot be made while on GFD.”  Algorithm for diagnosis of CD with a child on GFD presented on page 148.
Related blog links:

Disclaimer: These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) and specific medical management interventions should be confirmed by prescribing physician.  Application of the information in a particular situation remains the professional responsibility of the practitioner.

Postgraduate Course Notes – Hepatitis Module

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Notes from NASPGHAN’s postgraduate course:

Refractory Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH):  — Vicky Ng

Dr. Ng’s talk started with an overview of AIH and referred to AASLD guidelines: Diagnosis and Management of Autoimmune Hepatitis – AASLD

Recommendations included the following:

  • Cholangiography for all new cases of AIH
  • Starting azathioprine after seeing some improvement in transaminases with steroids
  • Monitoring for HCC
  • Monitor bone density/bone protection strategies discussed
  • Long term Rx needed in majority, though small number may be able to come off therapy if doing well for 2 years and normal liver biopsy

Refractory mgt:

  • This is applicable in 15-20% of patients
  • Reasons for refractory disease: non response, drug intolerance, non-compliance, overlap syndrome, comorbidities
  • If treatment failure, options could include increasing steroids and azathioprine.  If concerns for decompensation, refer for liver transplant evaluation.
  • NO standard Rx for refractory, but consider MMF (mycophenolate mofetil), cyclosporin (CYA), or tacrolimus (FK)
  • MMF most promising agent for refractory disease.  Small studies of MMF in adults/pediatrics indicates response in about 2/3rds of patients; best for those intolerant to azathioprine & helpful in dropping steroid dosing.  In pediatrics, a starting dose of 20 mg/kg/day is typical and increasing up to 40 mg/kg/day.  Pediatric study: 18/26 (69%) with response and 14/18 with normal AST w/in 2 months.
  • Tacrolimus –small study showed about ~90% response.  Dose was 0.1 mg/kg/day & target trough was 3 ng/mL
  • Briefly discussed budesonide.  More data in pediatrics needed.

Postgraduate Course Syllabus (posted with permission): PG Syllabus

Disclaimer: These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications (along with potential adverse effects) and specific medical management interventions should be confirmed by prescribing physician.  Application of the information in a particular situation remains the professional responsibility of the practitioner.

Screening for NAFLD

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As noted in previous blogs (see below), there is not a consensus with regard to screening for NAFLD in overweight and obese patients.  While some have argued for aggressive screening leading to an expensive tiered evaluation, other experts have been reluctant to endorse this approach, in part due to the magnitude of the problem and due to the perceived lack of therapeutic options.  Weighing in on this controversy is a new study (Aliment Pharm Ther 2013; DOI: 10.1111/apt.12518, link -from Jeff Schwimmer’s twitter feed: http://t.co/q1CUKBJtVo).

In the study’s introduction, the prevalence of NAFLD, estimated to be 9.6% of all children aged 2-19 years, along with society guidelines are reviewed.

The authors examined information from the clinical evaluation of 347 children (>10 years) [overweight (7%)/obese (93%)] who were referred by their primary care physician due to either an elevated ALT or suspected NAFLD.  Referral was at the discretion of the primary care attending and not based on a specific ALT value.  Median age was 13.5 years and 64% were boys.

1st tier: Subsequently, all patients underwent hepatic panel, GGT, CBC/diff, and coagulation studies.  2nd tier: If abnormal, the next set of labs may have included any or all of the following: studies for hepatitis infection (HAV, HBV, HCV), HIV, alpha-1-antitrypsin, ANA, anti-smooth muscle antibody, anti-liver kidney microsomal antibody, quantitative IgG, ceruloplasmin,  24-h urinary copper, tissue transglutaminase antibody, serum IgA, serum amino acids, urine organic acids, serum acylcarnitine, creatine kinase, ESR, CRP, and thyroid studies. (The authors did not evaluate iron status.) 3rd tier: Then, if evidence of chronic liver disease, patients were offered a liver biopsy under general anesthesia.

Results:

  • 21% did not have significant liver disease (after 1st tier).  Also, 3 liver biopsies were normal.
  • 94% of 273 with evidence of chronic liver disease underwent liver biopsy; no significant complications were noted, though a small percentage had some discomfort.
  • Ultimately, 55% were determined to have NAFLD (75% of those who underwent liver biopsy.
  • The authors report that 61 patients who had a liver biopsy had another liver disease, including autoimmune hepatitis in 11, celiac disease in 4, sclerosing cholangitis in 1, and drug-induced in 6.
  • Advanced fibrosis was noted overall in 11% (38 of 347) and in 17% of those with NAFLD.  Those with advanced fibrosis were more likely to have higher aminotransferases (eg. ALT 120 U/L compared with 82 U/L), higher GGT, and higher ceruloplasmin; however, there was significant overlap.
  • Approximately half of NAFLD patients had steatohepatitis.

Take-home message: while this article does not resolve the issue of whether screening overweight/obese children is the best strategy, it does provide useful information in those with elevated liver tests.  Careful investigation for treatable causes (and possibly nontreatable) of liver disease is worthwhile in those with sustained abnormalities in transaminases.  At a minimum, tests for autoimmune hepatitis, celiac disease, viral hepatitis, and Wilson’s disease should be at the top of the list.

Related blog entries:

Breakthrough for Fatty Liver Disease?

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Could bile acids play a role in reducing metabolic syndrome and in particular fatty liver disease?  This question is now being studied (Gastroenterology 2013; 145: 574-82).

This recent study examined whether obeticholic acid (OCA) which is a semisynthetic derivative of the human bile acid chenodeoxycholic acid could aid with insulin resistance and ultimately nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).  OCA is an agonist of the farnesoid X receptor which is a nuclear hormone receptor that regulates glucose and lipid metabolism.

The authors performed a phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the effects of OCA on insulin sensitivity in patients with NAFLD and type 2 diabetes mellitus.  Patients received either placebo (n=23), 25 mg OCA (n=20), or 50 mg OCA (n=21) once daily for 6 weeks.  Using an insulin clamp, insulin sensitivity was measured before and after the study period.  Numerous blood tests were obtained as well.

Results:

  • Insulin sensitivity improved 28% in the 25mg OCA group and 20.1% in the 50 mg OCA group whereas it decreased 5.5% in the placebo group.
  • The OCA groups also had significant reductions in gamma-glutamyltransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and dose-related weight loss.
  • Markers of liver fibrosis decreased in the 25 mg OCA group.
  • Side effects of OCA were minimal.  Constipation was reported in the 50 mg OCA group.

Take-home message: OCA may help patients with NAFLD and a bigger, longer study is in the works (FLINT study: 25 mg OCA for 72 weeks compared with placebo, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; NCT01265498)

Related blog posts:

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Why I blog

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I was asked to participate in a “Meet the Professor Breakfast Session” at the NASPGHAN Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting is taking place at the Chicago Hilton Downtown, October 9-11th. The proposed title of my session:

“Twitter/Facebook/Blog- Use of Technology in your practice”
Co-presenter: Eric Benchimol; time 7am (central) tomorrow morning (October 11)

My focus will be to discuss this blog and how it relates to my practice.  I started this blog shortly after the NASPGHAN meeting in 2011.  There were two main factors that contributed to starting this blog.

1. The death of the palm pilot and other PDAs.  After my fellowship, in 1997 I joined Mike Hart in Atlanta at Egleston Children’s Hospital.  He had started using a palm pilot and I began using one as well. I stored a lot of useful information on drugs and personal contacts.  By each local physician, in addition to their name, I kept the names of referred patients and their diagnoses.  I also decided that instead of tearing journals I would make entries in my Palm device and keep annotated references of journals that I was reading. When the support services disappeared for my Palm device, I transferred a lot of information to Notespark but was not as pleased with this site as I had been with my Palm.

2. NASPGHAN meeting. While at the NASPGHAN meeting, I listened to a talk by Bryan Vartabedian (33 Charts — medicine. health. (social) media).  Prior to that meeting, I had not considered starting a blog.  He made several points that I considered important.

  • Physicians need to provide a voice and balance in social media.  In many areas of medicine, like immunizations, the voices of extremists dominant the conversation.  “The solution to pollution is dilution.”  When physicians add their reasoned opinions to topics related to public health, this will steer the conversation towards sanity.
  • Taking part in social media allows a physician to modify their digital footprint.  Without our participation, what is placed on the internet is beyond our control (Physician Online Reputation Management – 2 Realities – 33 Charts).

His blog on social media and medicine has been present for many years and elaborates on these points and many others.

So I decided to start a blog.  This might sound difficult but it wasn’t.  I didn’t even need to ask my teenage sons for hardly any help.  Though, in retrospect, it may have been a good idea.  I found that wordpress.com provides tools for individuals to create their own blogs at no cost (alternative sites are noted in my slides -see link below).  Though, they definitely encourage an upgrade ($18 per year). Basically, I registered a name, picked a design type for the blog, and made a few choices about the formatting.

If you have time, you can look at some amazing blogs: photographers post pictures from all corners of the earth, professional chefs & domestic chefs provide recipes for anything you could think of eating, Nate Silver can tell you who is going to win the next presidential race, KevinMD has thoughtful posts from a huge number of health professionals, our hospital (like many others) has a blog, improvecarenow has a blog, there are blogs explaining the NEJM articles, my sister has a blog about what turning 50 means, and so many others.

What were my goals/Why I blog?

  • To create a site where I could archive the references of journal articles and have them accessible for easy searching.
  • To develop a relatively non-controversial digital footprint.  Truth be told, I would love to create a joke blog.  However, I think that anything you put out on the internet is available for public consumption and I am certain that some of my jokes would not be well-received in some circles.
  • To add my voice to topics like immunization policy, judicious use of antibiotics, and healthy nutrition choices.
  • To share some of my readings with my colleagues and mid-level providers.  I hoped that some of the information might help with more uniform adoption of best practices.  For example, with H pylori, we have an international expert in our group (Benjamin Gold who is speaking at this conference). Yet, the information that clarithromycin should not be a 1st line drug had not been brought up in any of our meetings.
  • To promote some aspects of our groups’ accomplishments.  When one of our physicians publishes an article, I definitely want to review that for my blog.
  • To remember journal articles with more clarity.

While many physicians might see the opportunity for patient education, I decided to target the blog to a medical professional audience.  Our office website (Children’s Center for Digestive Healthcare, LLC (GI care 4 kids) already has a great deal of patient-related information and links to numerous other useful sites.

When I first started the blog, I only notified a few people outside of our group.  This included my mentors in Cincinnati (including Mitchell Cohen, William Balistreri, and Jim Heubi) as well as my former boss Mike Hart.  All of these individuals, along with my other mentors in training (Colin Rudolph, Jorge Bezerra, Mike Farrell, and Jon Bucuvalas), could probably provide a great deal more insight.

After writing a few blogs, I decided I would send an email to authors of papers that I commented on.  This would allow them to provide additional insight as well if they chose.  After about a year of blogging, Mike Hart asked if I was OK with him sending an email out to the pediatric GI bulletin board listserv because he thought more people might enjoy the blog’s contents.  Also, now I usually will post a link on twitter so that individuals who follow me can access the blog as well.

Many physicians have avoided social media due to either time constraints or concerns of potential risk about putting out medical information.  I do put in time and try to be careful about what I write.  And, unlike medical journals, I do not have any editors.

At the same time, I have a lot of advantages.

  • I can provide links to media.  Some of these links are just for fun.  For example, in previous posts:  “dont go ninjin nobody that dont need ninjin” Kung Fu Hillbilly – Training Video – YouTube or “Everybody Poops” – a bad lip reading of the Black Eyed Peas ….  In addition, it is not difficult to place graphs or pictures.
  • I can provide links to newspaper articles and original publications.
  • I have the opportunity to provide more timely information.
  • The information on my blog is much easier to search.
  • Many other physicians forward me articles that they think would be of interest.
  • I can link previous related posts.  This is a lot easier than tracking down other types of references.
  • I can use twitter to leverage a great deal of information.  For example, Kipp Ellsworth has a twitter feed, @PedNutritionGuy, which cites a large number of relevant nutritional studies. Jeff Schwimmer has a twitter feed, @TheLiverPost, which highlights recent hepatology advances.
  • The blog site has a lot of tools, like widgets, which can help present useful information

Since my blog is mainly for health professionals, I have on occasion written patient-related information for our hospital blog: When a Child Swallows a Button Battery – Dedicated to All Better.  I’ve been told that this posting has had more than a thousand views.

Full presentation (powerpoint): WhyIBlogSlides

Related post:

What is the role for preventing variceal bleeding in Biliary Atresia?

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During medical school, I read a book called “The House of God”  (The House of God – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  One of this cynical book’s premises is that doing more diagnostic tests and treatments to help patients actually harms them.

A recent study of children with biliary atresia reminded me of this premise (Gastroenterol 2013; 145: 801-7, eidtorial 719-22).   In this retrospective study, there were 66 children with endoscopic evidence of portal hypertension who underwent endoscopic therapy for either primary (n=36, mean age 22 months) or secondary (n=30, mean age 24 months) treatment of esophageal varices biliary atresia (2001-2011).  These children were at high risk for bleeding; they had a mean bilirubin of >10 mg/dL and 20% had ascites.

Results:

Primary prophylaxis group: mean of 4.2 sessions were needed to eradicate varices.  Varices reappeared in 37%; there was no breakthrough bleeding.  97% survived for 3 years.  All of these patients had varices grade 2 or higher and 94% had red wale markings.

Secondary prophylaxis group (after previous bleeding): mean of 4.6 sessions to eradicate varices.  Varices reappeared in 45% and 10% had breakthrough bleeding.  84% survived for 3 years.

Treatment:

  • For bleeding group, sclerotherapy was used in 73%, banding in 17%, and both in 10%.
  •  For prophylaxis group, sclerotherapy was used in 44%, banding in 41%, and both in 14%.
  • By the end of the study, sclerotherapy was mainly used in patients weighing less than 8 kg.
  • Each endoscopy session had the same endoscopist, used octreotide (2 mcg/kg/hr) an 1 hour before and then for 2-3 days afterwards.
  • With bleeding patients, these sessions occurred after the patient was stabilized, with a mean of 10 days afterwards.
  • Patients had an average of four 3-day hospitalizations.
  • Within an average of 14 months, more than half of the primary prophylaxis group had undergone transplantation

The authors interpret their data as follows:  “primary or secondary prophylaxis of bleeding is well tolerated and greatly reduces the risks of variceal bleeding in children with biliary atresia and high-risk gastroesophageal varices.  The results support the active detection of these signs by endoscopic procedures.”

In contrast, the editorial is much less supportive of primary prophylaxis.  “We need to weigh the risks and benefits of multiple procedures in a nonbleeding child who may not bleed for years, when varices have a high chance of recurring and transplant is sometimes imminent. Because mortality from gastrointestinal bleeding in children is quite low (zero in this small study), we may need to consider a ‘wait and see’ approach.”

Bottomline: A failed Kasai is an indication for transplantation which is a much more definitive treatment for portal hypertension.

Previous related blog posts:

Nexium versus Fluticasone for EoE

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As noted in previous blog posts (EoE: Drugs, Diets, Dilatation and PPI-REE | gutsandgrowth, EoE –Journal Club (Part 1) | gutsandgrowth, and EoE –Journal Club (Part 2) | gutsandgrowth), proton pump inhibitors are recommended as 1st line therapy in suspected eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) for several reasons.  Besides the potential for gastroesophageal reflux to cause esophageal eosinophilia, there has been recognition of PPI-responsive eosinophilic esophagitis (PPI-REE).  In adults, the response to proton pump inhibitors, both clinically and histologically, is likely higher than in children; nevertheless, in children it is anticipated that 20-40% of patients with suspected EoE will have a histological remission with PPI therapy.

A recent study in adults suggests that PPIs may in fact outperform topical steroids (Am J Gastroenterol 2013; 108: 366-72).  Thanks to Ben Gold and Seth Marcus for identifying this reference.  This study enrolled 42 patients: 90% male, 81% white, mean age 38 years. It was a prospective single-blinded, randomized controlled trial with newly suspected EoE; half of the patients received esomeprazole 40 mg daily and half fluticasone swallowed aerosol 440 mcg twice a day.  After 8 weeks, all patients had repeat endoscopy; a total of eight biopsies were obtained –four at two locations: 15 cm above LES and 3 cm above LES.  In addition, at the start of the study, patients also underwent 24-h pH/impedance monitoring.  4 of the 21 patients in each group had abnormal degrees of gastroesophageal reflux/gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Study characteristics note that 62% of patients had coexisting atopic disorders.

Results:

  • There was no significant difference in esophageal eosinophilia response with 19% of the fluticasone and 33% of the esomeprazole achieving an eosinophil count < 5/hpf (P=0.484)
  • In patients with coexisting GERD, all 4 esomeprazole patients achieved histologic remission  compared with none of the fluticasone-treated patients.
  • When the GERD patients were excluded, the histological remission was quite similar: 24% with fluticasone and 18% for esomeprazole.

Overall, this study population had a lower rate of response to topical steroids than in multiple previous studies.  More typically, response rates of ~50% have been reported; however, studies have shown lower responses in some adult studies.  Variability in response could be related to multiple factors included dosage, duration, delivery, and definition of response.  In addition, population characteristics included disease duration and frequency of underlying atopic disease and GERD play a role.

Take-home points: Although this is a small study, it reinforces the fact that PPIs induce a histological response and clinical response in some patients suspected of having EoE regardless of whether GERD is present.  PPIs are considered 1st line therapy.  Topical fluticasone had a lower response rate in this study.  However, in clinical pediatric practice, topical steroids are effective in about 50% of patients.

Additional related blog entries:

Crohn’s Research: Going to Pot

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A recent pilot study using Cannabis for Crohn’s disease is certain to attract a lot of attention (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2013; 11: 1276-80).  The side effects are definitely less frightening than many of the accepted treatments.

Background: Cannabis has a long record of medicinal uses; it contains more than 60 different compounds, though Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are thought to be the most active.  Cannabis has known antiinflammatory properties and has been shown to reduce colitis in a mouse model.

Study design/characteristics: 21 of 51 screened patients participated; these patients had active Crohn’s disease despite thiopurines in 20  or 21 and anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy in 18.  These 21 patients were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.  The average age in the cannabis group was 46 years compared with 37 in the placebo group.  Both groups received cigarettes twice daily; the cannabis cigarettes had 115 mg of THC whereas the placebo group had cannabis flowers in which the THC had been extracted.  Though this was a double-blind study and efforts were made to mask the psychotropic effects by recruiting patients naive to cannabis, nevertheless, by the end of the study most of the patients knew whether they were in the active group or the placebo group.

Results:

  • Cannabis group had a 45% remission rate (5 of 11) with a CDAI of ≤150; the placebo group had a 10% remission rate.  This did not achieve statistical significance.
  • The response rate (CDAI drop of >100) was noted in 90% (10 of 11) of cannabis group compared with 40% in the placebo group.
  • The mean CDAI reduction was 177 in the study group compared with 66 in the placebo group (P= .005).
  • There were no significant laboratory changes (eg. Hgb, CRP, LFTs, kidney function).
  • No significant side effects were noted.  The study group reported less pain, improved appetite, and better satisfaction with their treatment.

In their discussion, the authors note that this is a small study.  They chose the smoking route with THC-rich cannabis to achieve higher blood levels, but note that oral dosing may be effective.  The 8-week duration of the study and lack of more objective markers of response precludes firm conclusions.

Take-home message: Cannabis should be studied further for its potential role in controlling inflammation.  This study’s timing will increase the broader interest in medical marijuana applications.

Related links: