New CEGIR Site Announced

Contacts:
Jennifer Knowles, University of Utah, Phone: (801)-587-9050, E-mail: Jennifer.Knowles@hsc.utah.edu  

Mary Jo Strobel, American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders, Phone: (713)-493-7749, Email: mjstrobel@apfed.org

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

(ATLANTA, GA)—The American Partnership of Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) and University of Utah (U of U) are excited to announce that the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR) has recently added the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah as the newest CEGIR site.  The U of U is open to enroll patients (ages 3-100) into the CEGIR 7801 Study: OMEGA—A Prospective, Multicenter Study to Compare and Validate Endoscopic, Histologic, Molecular and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Pediatric and Adult Patients with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), Gastritis (EG) and Colitis (EC)*.

EoE, EG and EC are eosinophil-associated diseases (EADs).  EADs are chronic inflammatory disorders characterized by elevated levels of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in one or more specific places in tissues, organs, and/or bloodstream, which in turn causes inflammation and damage.  Specifically, EoE, EG and EC are Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases (EGIDs) which means that there are elevated levels of eosinophils in the gastrointestinal tract.

CEGIR is conducting the OMEGA study because they want to learn more about EGIDs.  As part of that goal, one area of study will compare how well a patient feels—their symptoms—with what the tissue samples look like under a microscope.  The study is designed to give researchers and clinicians a better idea of the correlation of symptoms to the tissue, help them find clues about the disease in the tissue samples and assess how this information could be used in the future to help guide diagnosis and treatment plans.

If you would like to learn more about the OMEGA study and see if you may be eligible to participate, please visit: https://www.rarediseasesnetwork.org/cms/cegir/7801 .  If you are interested in seeing if you can participate in this study at University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah please contact Jennifer Knowles using the phone number and/or e-mail address listed above.

*The OMEGA study is currently only enrolling patients with EG and/or EC and has been closed to EoE patients.  Patients with a diagnosis of Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis (EGE) or Eosinophilic Duodenitis (ED) can contact a study coordinator for additional eligibility details.

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About The American Partnership of Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED)

APFED is a non-profit organization dedicated to patients and their families coping with eosinophilic disorders.  APFED’s mission is to passionately embrace, support and improve the lives of patients and families affected by eosinophil-associated diseases through education and awareness, research, support and advocacy. Learn more about APFED and our upcoming patient education conference held in collaboration with CEGIR and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (July 25-27, 2019 in Washington, DC) at www.apfed.org

About University of Utah (U of U)

University of Utah Health is the Mountain West’s only academic health care system, combining excellence in patient care, the latest in medical research, and teaching to provide leading-edge medicine in a caring and personal setting. The system provides care for Utahns and residents of five surrounding states in a referral area encompassing more than 10 percent of the continental United States.

Whether it’s for routine care or highly specialized treatment in orthopedics, stroke, ophthalmology, cancer, radiology, fertility, cardiology, genetic-related diseases, organ transplant, or more than 200 other medical specialties, University of Utah Health offers the latest technology and advancements, including some services available nowhere else in the region.

As part of that system, University Hospitals & Clinics relies on more than 1,400 board-certified physicians and more than 5,000 health care professionals who staff four hospitals:

• University Hospital
• Huntsman Cancer Institute
• University Orthopaedic Center
• University Neuropsychiatric Institute

 

U of U Health also has 12 community clinics and several specialty centers, which include:

• Cardiovascular Center,
• Clinical Neurosciences Center,
• John A. Moran Eye Center,
• University Orthopaedic Center, and
• Utah Diabetes Center.

 

Consistently, ranked #1 in quality in the nation among academic medical centers, our academic partners at the University of Utah include a School of Medicine and Dentistry, and Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy, and Health, which are internationally regarded research and teaching institutions.

 

About the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers (CEGIR)

CEGIR (U54AI117804) is a part of the NCATS Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN).  RDCRN is an initiative of the Office of Rare Diseases (ORDR), NCATS, funded through a collaboration between the NCATS, the NIAID and the NIDDK.  CEGIR is also supported by patient advocacy groups including APFED, CURED and EFC.  www.rdcrn.org/cegir