Eosinophilic Oesophagitis

Abstract

Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) is a recently recognised immune-mediated inflammatory condition of the oesophagus. The oesophagus has been traditionally thought of as an inert organ incapable of inducing an immune reaction and that it merely transfers food from the mouth into the stomach.
However, the oesophagus is now recognised as an immunologically active organ that can recruit eosinophils in the presence of triggering factors.
The oesophagus is normally devoid of eosinophils; and when the latter were found on histological specimens, they were thought to be the hallmark of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease; until the entity eosinophilic oesophagitis became increasingly recognised.