Glycogenic acanthosis are small raised white plaques commonly seen in the esophageal mucosa. Ghahremani GG, Rushovich AM. Glycogenic acanthosis of the esophagus: radiographic and pathologic features. ''Gastrointest Radiol.'' 1984;9(2):93-8. . It is seen incidentally in 3.5% of gastroscopies.Vadva MD, Triadafilopoulos G. Glycogenic acanthosis of the esophagus and gastroesophageal reflux. ''J Clin Gastroenterol''. 1993 Jul;17(1):79-83.

Signs and symptoms

On gastroscopy, glycogenic acanthosis is seen as a multitude of small white raised plaques of 2 mm to 10 mm in size, which may be seen throughout the esophagus. They tend to occur on esophageal folds, and may be missed if the esophagus is not well distended with air. It may be seen on esophageal x-rays; it is not seen on standard esophograms, but can be seen with double-contrast studies.

Biopsies A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiologist. The process involves extraction of sample cells or tissues for examination to determine the presence or extent of a diseas ...

of the lesions show hypertrophied stratified squamous mucosa with

glycogen Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. The polysaccharide structure represents the main storage form of glucose in the body. Glycogen functions as one o ...

deposition in the

mucosa A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...

. Clinically, mild glycogenic acanthosis is a normal finding, and does not progress to

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

or to stricture.Pathology Outlines website: http://pathologyoutlines.com/esophagus.html#glycogenic Accessed 6 January 2009. It is not related to leukoplakia, and is not dysplastic or premalignant. It was originally thought to be associated with

gastroesophageal reflux disease Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...

(GERD), but the association is not entirely clear. One report also shows an association with

celiac disease Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine, where individuals develop intolerance to gluten, present in foods such as wheat, rye and barl ...

, but again, this has not shown been beyond that. Extensive glycogenic acanthosis has been shown to be associated with

Cowden's syndrome Cowden syndrome (also known as Cowden's disease and multiple hamartoma syndrome) is an autosomal dominant inherited condition characterized by benign overgrowths called hamartomas as well as an increased lifetime risk of breast, thyroid, uterine, a ...

.Kay PS, Soetikno RM, Mindelzun R, Young HS. Diffuse esophageal glycogenic acanthosis: an endoscopic marker of Cowden's disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 1997 Jun;92(6):1038-40

Diagnosis

Glycogenic acanthosis is characterized by epithelial hyperplasia, with an increased number of enlarged epithelial cells containing abundant glycogen. There is no associated hyperkeratosis,

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

, dysplasia, or cellular

atypia Atypia (from Greek, ''a'' + ''typos'', without type; a condition of being irregular or nonstandard) is a histopathologic term for a structural abnormality in a cell, i.e. it is used to describe atypical cells. Atypia can be caused by an infection ...

References

External links

Microscopic images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glycogenic Acanthosis Esophagus disorders