Glycogenic acanthosis is a nodular appearance of the mucosa of the esophagus

Esophagus

The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...

. It is seen incidentally in 3.5% of gastroscopies

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy

For other expansions of the initialism "OGD", see the disambiguation page.In medicine , esophagogastroduodenoscopy is a diagnostic endoscopic procedure that visualizes the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract up to the duodenum...

. It is also a common finding during fluoroscopic studies of the esophagus

Barium swallow

A barium swallow is a medical imaging procedure used to examine the upper GI tract, which includes the esophagus and, to a lesser extent, the stomach.-Principle:...

.

Clinical features

On gastroscopy, glycogenic acanthosis is seen as a multitude of small raised plaques of 2 mm to 10 mm in size of the same colour as the esophageal mucosa. Biopsies

Biopsy

A biopsy is a medical test involving sampling of cells or tissues for examination. It is the medical removal of tissue from a living subject to determine the presence or extent of a disease. The tissue is generally examined under a microscope by a pathologist, and can also be analyzed chemically...

 of the lesions show hypertrophied stratified squamous mucosa with glycogen

Glycogen

Glycogen is a molecule that serves as the secondary long-term energy storage in animal and fungal cells, with the primary energy stores being held in adipose tissue...

 deposition in the mucosa.

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

Esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...

 or to stricture

Stricture

Stricture may refer to:* esophageal stricture, in medicine* stenosis, in medicine* a feature of the Perl programming language* tenet, in religion* degree of contact, in a consonant...

. It was originally thought to be associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease

Gastroesophageal reflux disease

Gastroesophageal reflux disease , gastro-oesophageal reflux disease , gastric reflux disease, or acid reflux disease is chronic symptoms or mucosal damage caused by stomach acid coming up from the stomach into the esophagus...

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

Coeliac disease

Coeliac disease , is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward...

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

Microscopic features

Glycogenic acanthosis affects the prickle cell

Prickle cell

A prickle cell is an epidermal cell which lies above the basal cell layer, constituting a stratum spinosum, which forms innumerable intercellular bridges. These intercellular bridges give the stratum spinosum a rough appearance to which the cells of which it is composed owe their name...

 layer of the squamous epithelium

Epithelium

Epithelium is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. Epithelial tissues line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body, and also form many glands. Functions of epithelial cells include secretion, selective...

 of the esophagus

Esophagus

The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...

. these cells are thickened and packed with glyocgen. There is no associated inflammatory response

Inflammation

Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...

 and no cellular atypia

Atypia

Atypia is a clinical term for abnormality in a cell. The term is medical jargon for an atypical cell. Atypia: Etymology: Gk, a + typos, without type; a condition of being irregular or nonstandard....

.

Here is a microscopic image.