PHILADELPHIA – Eosinophilic esophagitis is a disease that affects children who are unable to swallow food because it causes the body to reject it.
Ashton Ulmer, 11, is a foodie who recently stopped eating nearly everything.
"It just hurt. I didn't want to eat," he said.
"When he started pushing the plate away, and started getting a little frustrated, I knew something else was wrong. It was more than just reflux, it was heartburn, belly pain," said Ashton's mother, Melissa Ulmer.
Figuring out what's wrong when kids have stomach aches is difficult. In Ashton's case, he was allergic to milk protein.
Dr. Jonathan M. Spergel, professor of pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, just completed a study on the disorder.
Spergel's study focused on 20 children with EOE who wore an inch-long patch with milk protein on their backs. It was absorbed through the skin because traditional allergy shots or pills didn't work. And the idea behind the patch was to build up a tolerance to the danger food.
"So, we put the patches on their backs and changed the patches every day," Spergel said.
After nine months, the doctors reintroduced milk.
"Was the disease still there? For some patients it wasn't. Didn't work with all patients, but for some patients, they were now able to take milk which they couldn't before, which is sort of wonderful," Spergel said.
EOE can create intolerance to all foods and restrict the esophagus so that swallowing food would be impossible. Doctors say early intervention is critical.
This was a Phase 2 Study but additional studies are needed to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.