November 1, 2024

Environmental Enteric Dysfunction Biopsy Initiative (EEDBI) Consortium publishes supplement in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Dr. Donna Denno (Global WACh’s Associate Director of Pediatrics and faculty in the UW Departments of Pediatrics, Global Health, and Health Systems and Population Health) co-led an 8-paper supplement recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The Environmental Enteric Dysfunction Biopsy Initiative: An Intensive Prospective Multicenter Analysis supplement consists of an introductory article, The Environmental Enteric Dysfunction Biopsy Initiative (EEDBI) Consortium: Mucosal Investigations of EED, and seven research papers. The papers represent the most comprehensive assessment of the pathophysiology of EED, which is highly prevalent and a major cause of poor child growth and development in low-resource settings. The papers reflect years of research by numerous collaborators across the globe.

Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is an asymptomatic acquired disorder characterized by upper small bowel inflammation, villus blunting, and gut permeability. It is a major contributor of poor growth among children in low- and middle-income regions, as well as to other adverse outcomes, such as decreased efficacy of oral vaccines and delayed neurocognitive development. There is a resurgence in the field of EED research; however, recent studies have been hampered by a lack of investigation of the target tissue—the upper small bowel.

In response, the EEDBI (Environmental Enteric Dysfunction Biopsy Initiative) Consortium was established in 2016 as a common scientific platform across three independent biopsy cohort studies in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Zambia. Two centers in the United States recruited comparison groups of children undergoing endoscopy for clinical indications. The EEDBI Consortium’s research can help address complex questions about EED and how to improve global strategies to manage and treat the condition.

Congratulations to Dr. Denno and the consortium on this massive accomplishment.