A Randomized Double Blind Placebo Controlled Study of the Effect of Swallowed Beclomethasone Dipropionate on Inflammatory Markers in Adult Patients With Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Summary

The investigators hypothesize that swallowed beclomethasone leads not only to improvement of symptoms and decreased number of eosinophils in esophageal mucosa, but also to a decrease in other markers of tissue inflammation like mast cells, CD4+ T lymphocytes, IL4, IL-5, IL13, GM-CSF and TGF-beta as well as serum ultra-sensitive C-Reactive Protein (CRP). The investigators aim to characterize the response of esophageal inflammation to swallowed topical glucocorticoids, and identify biomarkers to assess response to treatment. This research will elucidate the effect of treatment with beclomethasone on various inflammatory markers in EoE, which is currently not well-understood. This work will explore the pathophysiology of EoE, and has the potential to find a non-invasive biomarker such as high-sensitivity CRP that can be used to monitor the response to treatment.

Timeline

Start

2010-03

Primary completion

2012-07

Completion

2012-10

Drugs

Indications