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Results of endoscopic studies have demonstrated that the spectrum of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) includes nonerosive and erosive manifestations. Although Barrett's esophagus (BE) is thought to be a stage of severe GERD-related esophagitis, esophagitis is not an independent risk factor for the development of BE. Further, many BE patients do not have evidence of erosive esophagitis, even those are not receiving acid-suppressive therapy at the time of BE diagnosis. These researchers hypothesized that varying phenotypic profiles account for the diverse immune responses found in GERD patients.
Researchers compared T-cell and cytokine responses with histologic esophageal changes in biopsy samples from 3 groups of GERD patients: 26 with …