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celiac disease

 
Medical Encyclopedia: Celiac Disease

Definition

Celiac disease is a disease of the digestive system that damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food.

Description

Celiac disease occurs when the body reacts abnormally to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats. When someone with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, that person's immune system causes an inflammatory response in the small intestine, which damages the tissues and results in impaired ability to absorb nutrients from foods. The inflammation and malabsorption create wide-ranging problems in many systems of the body. Since the body's own immune system causes the damage, celiac disease is classified as an "autoimmune" disorder. Celiac disease may also be called sprue, nontropical sprue, gluten sensitive enteropathy, celiac sprue, and adult celiac disease.

Celiac disease may be discovered at any age, from infancy through adulthood. The disorder is more commonly found among white Europeans or in people of European descent. It is very unusual to find celiac disease in African or Asian people. The exact incidence of the disease is uncertain. Estimates vary from one in 5000, to as many as one in every 300 individuals with this background. The prevalence of celiac disease seems to be different from one European country to another, and between Europe and the United States. This may be due to differences in diet and/or unrecognized disease. A recent study of random blood samples tested for celiac disease in the US showed one in 250 testing positive. It is clearly underdiagnosed, probably due to the symptoms being attributed to another problem, or lack of knowledge about celiac disease by physicians and laboratories. Because of the known genetic component, relatives of patients with celiac disease are considered at higher risk for the disorder.

Because celiac disease has a hereditary influence, close relatives (especially first degree relatives, such as children, siblings, and parents) have a higher risk of being affected with the condition. The chance that a first degree relative of someone with celiac disease will have the disease is about 10%.

As more is learned about celiac disease, it becomes evident that it has many variations which may not produce typical symptoms. It may even be clinically "silent," where no obvious problems related to the disease are apparent.

— Amy Vance, MS, CGC



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Dictionary: celiac disease
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n.
A chronic nutritional disturbance, usually of young children, caused by the inability to metabolize gluten, which results in malnutrition, a distended abdomen, muscle wasting, and the passage of stools having a high fat content. The disorder can be controlled by a special diet that emphasizes the elimination of all foods containing gluten.


Food and Nutrition: coeliac disease
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celiac disease

Intolerance of the proteins of wheat, rye, and barley; specifically, the gliadin fraction of the protein gluten. The villi of the small intestine are severely affected and absorption of food is poor. Stools are bulky and fermenting from unabsorbed carbohydrate, and contain a large amount of unabsorbed fat (steatorrhoea). As a result of malabsorption, affected people are malnourished and children suffer from growth retardation. Treatment is by exclusion of wheat, rye, and barley proteins (the starches are tolerated); rice, oats, and maize are generally tolerated. Manufactured foods that are free from gluten, and hence suitable for consumption by people with coeliac disease are usually labelled as ‘gluten-free’. Also known as gluten-induced enteropathy, and sometimes as non-tropical sprue.

Food and Fitness: coeliac disease
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gluten intolerance; sprue

A digestive disorder caused by hypersensitivity to gluten, a mixture of two proteins found in wheat, barley, oats, and rye. The name ‘coeliac’ is derived from the Greek for ‘suffering in the bowels’. The condition is characterized by swelling of the intestinal wall and disappearance of the microvilli (the very fragile, highly folded membrane of some intestinal cells) in the presence of gluten. This results in impaired absorption of all nutrients (general malabsorption). Coeliac disease can be controlled by eating a strict and lifelong, gluten-free diet (i.e. a diet excluding wheat, barley, and rye products). The structure and function of the intestine returns to normal if gluten is removed from the diet.

Definition

Celiac disease occurs when the body reacts abnormally to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Gluten causes an inflammatory response in the small intestine, which damages the tissues and results in impaired ability to absorb nutrients from foods.

Description

Celiac disease—also called sprue, nontropical sprue, gluten sensitive enteropathy, celiac sprue, and adult celiac disease—may be discovered at any age. Researchers believe that a combination of genetic and environmental factors trigger the disease. Environmental events that may provoke celiac disease in those with a genetic predisposition to the disorder include surgery or a viral infection.

The disorder is more commonly found among white Europeans or those of European descent. The exact incidence of the disease is uncertain. Estimates vary from one in 5,000 to as many as one in every 300 individuals with this background. In 2002, new research in Italy followed patients with type 1 diabetes. Celiac disease is 20 times more common among these patients than in the general population, yet often goes undetected in these children. The study authors recommended celiac disease screening programs for children recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Causes & Symptoms

Celiac disease is caused by an inflammatory response of the small intestine. The exact mechanism of the disorder is not clearly understood, but it is known that both heredity and the immune system play a part. When food containing gluten reaches the small intestine, the immune system begins to attack a substance called gliadin, which is found in the gluten. The resulting inflammation causes damage to the delicate finger-like structures in the intestine, called villi, where food absorption actually takes place.

The most commonly recognized symptoms of celiac disease relate to the improper absorption of food in the gastrointestinal system. The patient will have diarrhea and fatty, greasy, unusually foul-smelling stools. The patient may complain of excessive gas (flatulence), distended abdomen, weight loss, and generalized weakness.

Not all patients have these problems. Unrecognized celiac disease may cause or contribute to a variety of other conditions. The decreased ability to digest, absorb, and utilize food properly (malabsorption) may cause anemia from iron deficiency or easy bruising from a lack of vitamin K. Poor mineral absorption may result in osteoporosis, which may lead to bone fractures. Vitamin D levels may be insufficient and bring about a "softening" of bones (osteomalacia), which produces pain and bony deformities. Defects in the tooth enamel, characteristic of celiac disease, may also occur. Celiac disease may be discovered during medical tests performed to investigate failure to thrive in infants, or lack of proper growth in children and adolescents. People with celiac disease may also experience lactose intolerance because they do not produce enough of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the sugar in milk into a form the body can absorb.

A distinctive skin rash, called dermatitis herpetiformis, may be the first sign of celiac disease. Approximately 10% of patients with celiac disease have this rash, but it is estimated that 85% or more of patients with the rash have the disease.

Because of the variety of ways celiac disease can manifest itself, it is often not discovered promptly. The condition may persist without diagnosis for so long that the patient accepts a general feeling of illness as normal. This leads to further delay in identifying and treating the disorder.

Diagnosis

If celiac disease is suspected, a blood test that looks for the antibodies that the immune system produces in celiac disease is ordered. Some experts advocate not just evaluating patients with symptoms, but using these blood studies as a screening test for high-risk individuals, such as those with relatives known to have the disorder. An abnormal result points towards celiac disease, but further tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis. Other tests may be ordered to look for nutritional deficiencies. For example, doctors may order a test of iron levels in the blood because low levels of iron (anemia) may accompany celiac disease. Doctors may also order a test for fat in the stool, since celiac disease prevents the body from absorbing fat from food.

The next step is a biopsy of the small intestine. This is usually done by a gastroenterologist, a physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating bowel disorders. It is generally performed in the office, or in an outpatient department in a hospital. The patient remains awake, but is sedated. A narrow tube is passed through the mouth, down through the stomach, and into the small intestine. A small sample of tissue is taken and sent to the laboratory for analysis. If it shows a pattern of tissue damage characteristic of celiac disease, the diagnosis is established.

Treatment

The treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet (GFD). This may be easy for the doctor to prescribe, but difficult for the patient to follow. Gluten is present in any product that contains wheat, rye, barley, or oats. It helps make bread rise, and gives many foods a smooth, pleasing texture.

In addition to the many obvious places gluten can be found in a normal diet, such as breads, cereals, and pasta, there are many hidden sources of gluten. These include ingredients added to foods to improve texture or enhance flavor and products used in food packaging. Gluten may even be present on surfaces used for food preparation or cooking.

Fresh foods that have not been artificially processed, such as fruits, vegetables, and meats, are permitted as part of a GFD. Gluten-free foods can be found in health food stores, mail-order companies, and in some super-markets. Help in dietary planning is available from support groups for individuals with celiac disease. There are many cookbooks on the market specifically for those on a GFD.

Treating celiac disease with a GFD is almost always completely effective in alleviating symptoms. Secondary complications, such as anemia and osteoporosis, resolve in almost all patients. People who have experienced lactose intolerance related to their celiac disease usually see those symptoms subside as well.

Allopathic Treatment

Both complementary and allopathic healthcare practitioners generally agree that a gluten-free diet is the best treatment for celiac disease.

There are a small number of patients who develop a refractory type of celiac disease, where the GFD no longer seems effective. Once the diet has been thoroughly assessed to ensure no hidden sources of gluten are causing the problem, medications may be prescribed. Steroids or immunosuppressant drugs are often used to try to control the disease.

Expected Results

The physician will periodically recheck the level of antibody in the patient's blood after a diagnosis of celiac disease has been made. After several months on a GFD, the small intestine of the patient is biopsied again. If the diagnosis of celiac disease was correct, healing of the intestine will be apparent. Most experts agree that it is necessary to follow these steps in order to be sure of an accurate diagnosis.

Patients with celiac disease must keep a strict GFD as long as they live. Although the disease may have symptom-free periods, silent damage will continue to occur if the diet is not followed. Patients who do not follow their diets run higher risks of serious complications like gastrointestinal cancers, iron–deficiency anemia, and decreased bone mineral density. Celiac disease cannot be "outgrown" or cured, according to medical authorities.

Once the diet has been followed for several years, individuals with celiac disease have similar mortality rates to the general population. However, about 10% of people with celiac disease develop a cancer involving the lymphatic system (lymphoma).

Prevention

There is no way to completely prevent celiac disease. However, the key to decreasing its impact on over-all health is early diagnosis and strict adherence to the prescribed diet. Interestingly, a 2002 study of Swedish children found that the gradual introduction of glutencontaining foods into infant's diets while they are still being breast–fed can reduce the risk of celiac disease, at least in early childhood.

Resources

Books

Lowell, Jax Peters. Against the Grain: The Slightly Eccentric Guide to Living Well without Wheat or Gluten. New York: Henry Holt, 1996.

Periodicals

"Celiac Disease Develops Early in Type 1 Diabetes Course." Diabetes Week. (June 17, 2002): 3.

Ivarsson, Aneeli, et al. "Breast–feeding Protects Against Celiac Disease." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (May 2002): 914–918.

Jancin, Bruce. "Lifelong, Gluten%ndash;free Diet Boosts Celiac Disease Outcomes. (Avoids Anemia, Increased GI Cancers)." Internal Medicine News. (May 15, 2002): 14.

Pruessner, H. "Detecting Celiac Disease in Your Patients." American Family Physician. 57 (March 1998): 1023-1034.

Organizations

Celiac Disease Foundation. 13251 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1, Studio City, CA 91604-1838. (818) 990-2354. http://www.cdf@celiac.org.

Celiac Sprue Association/United States of America (CSA/USA). PO Box 31700, Omaha, NE 68131-0700. (402) 558-0600.

Gluten Intolerance Group. PO Box 23053, Seattle, WA 98102-0353. (206) 325-6980.

[Article by: Paula Ford-Martin; Teresa G. Odle]

Children's Health Encyclopedia: Celiac Disease
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Definition

Celiac disease is a disease of the digestive system in which the inside lining of the small intestine (mucosa) is damaged after eating wheat, rye, oats, or barley, resulting in interference with the absorption of nutrients from food.

Description

Celiac disease occurs when the body reacts abnormally to gluten, a protein found in grains, including wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats. When someone with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, that person's immune system causes an inflammatory response in the small intestine, which damages the tissues and results in impaired ability to absorb nutrients from foods (malabsorption). The inflammation and malabsorption create wide-ranging problems in many systems of the body. Since the body's own immune system causes the damage, celiac disease is classified as an autoimmune disorder.

Each person with celiac disease is affected differently. When food containing gluten reaches the small intestine, the immune system begins to attack a substance called gliadin, which is found in the gluten. The resulting inflammation causes damage to the delicate finger-like structures in the intestine, called villi, where food absorption actually takes place. This damage is referred to as villus atrophy. The patient may experience a number of symptoms related to the inflammation and the chemicals it releases, and/or the lack of ability to absorb nutrients from food, which can cause malnutrition.

Celiac disease is also called sprue, nontropical sprue, gluten sensitive enteropathy, and celiac sprue.

Demographics

Celiac disease may be discovered at any age, from infancy through adulthood. The disorder is more commonly found among white Europeans and in people of European descent. It is very unusual to find celiac disease in African or Asian people. The exact incidence of the disease is uncertain. Estimates vary from one in 5,000, to as many as one in every 300 individuals with this background. The prevalence of celiac disease seems to be different from one European country to another and between Europe and the United States. This discrepancy may be due to differences in diet and/or the possibility that the disease goes unrecognized in some areas. One study of random blood samples tested for celiac disease in the United States showed one in 250 testing positive. It is clearly underdiagnosed, probably because the symptoms are attributed to another problem, and physicians and laboratory technicians lack knowledge about celiac disease.

Because celiac disease has a hereditary influence or genetic component, close relatives (especially first-degree relatives, such as children, siblings, and parents) have a higher risk of being affected with the condition. The chance that a first-degree relative of someone with celiac disease has the disease is about 10 percent.

Causes and Symptoms

The pattern of inheritance is complicated regarding this disease. The type of inheritance pattern that celiac disease follows is called multifactorial (caused by many factors, both genetic and environmental). Researchers think that several factors must exist in order for the disease to occur. The patient must have a genetic predisposition to develop the disorder. Then something in their environment acts as a stimulus, or trigger, to their immune system, causing the disease to become active for the first time. For conditions with multifactorial inheritance, people without the genetic predisposition are less likely to develop the condition with exposure to the same triggers, or they may require more exposure to the stimulus before developing the disease than someone with a genetic predisposition. Stimuli that may provoke a reaction include surgery, especially gastrointestinal surgery; a change to a low fat diet, which includes an increased number of wheat-based foods; severe emotional stress; or a viral infection. The combination of genetic susceptibility and an outside agent leads to celiac disease.

The most commonly recognized symptoms of celiac disease relate to the improper absorption of food in the gastrointestinal system. Many patients with gastrointestinal symptoms will have diarrhea and fatty, greasy, unusually foul-smelling stools. The patient may complain of excessive gas (flatulence), distended abdomen, weight loss, and generalized weakness. Not all people have digestive system complications; some people only have irritability or depression. Irritability is one of the most common symptoms in children with celiac disease.

Not all individuals with celiac disease exhibit typical symptoms. As more is learned about celiac disease, it has become evident that the disease has many variations that may not produce typical symptoms. Unrecognized and therefore untreated celiac disease may cause or contribute to a variety of other conditions. The decreased ability to digest, absorb, and utilize food properly (malabsorption) may cause anemia (low red blood count from iron deficiency) or easy bruising from a lack of vitamin K. Poor mineral absorption may result in osteoporosis, or brittle bones, which may lead to bone fractures. Vitamin D levels may be insufficient and bring about a softening of bones (osteomalacia), which produces pain and bony deformities, such as flattening or bending. Defects in the tooth enamel, characteristic of celiac disease, may be recognized by dentists. Celiac disease may be discovered during medical tests performed to investigate failure to thrive in infants or lack of proper growth in children and adolescents. People with celiac disease may also experience lactose intolerance because they do not produce enough of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down the sugar in milk into a form the body can absorb. Other symptoms can include muscle cramps, fatigue, delayed growth, tingling or numbness in the legs (from nerve damage), pale sores in the mouth (called aphthus ulcers), tooth discoloration, or missed menstrual periods (due to severe weight loss).

A distinctive, painful skin rash, called dermatitis herpetiformis, may be the first sign of celiac disease in adults but rarely occurs in children with celiac disease.

Many disorders are associated with celiac disease, although the nature of the connection is unclear. One type of epilepsy is linked to celiac disease. Once their celiac disease is successfully treated, a significant number of these patients have fewer or no seizures. Patients with alopecia areata, a condition in which hair loss occurs in sharply defined areas, have been shown to have a higher risk of celiac disease than the general population. There appears to be a higher percentage of celiac disease among people with Down syndrome, but the link between the conditions was unknown as of 2004.

Several conditions attributed to a disorder of the immune system have been associated with celiac disease. People with insulin-dependent diabetes (type I) have a much higher incidence of celiac disease. One source estimates that as many as one in 20 insulin-dependent diabetics may have celiac disease. Patients with other conditions in which celiac disease may be more commonly found include those with juvenile chronic arthritis, some thyroid diseases, and IgA deficiency.

There is an increased risk of intestinal lymphoma, a type of cancer, in individuals with celiac disease. Successful treatment of the celiac disease seems to decrease the chance of developing lymphoma.

When to Call the Doctor

A doctor should be consulted when a child exhibits symptoms characteristic of this disease.

Diagnosis

Because of the variety of ways celiac disease can manifest itself, it is often not discovered promptly. Its symptoms are similar to many other conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis, intestinal infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression. The condition may persist without diagnosis for so long that the patient accepts a general feeling of illness as normal. This acceptance leads to further delay in identifying and treating the disorder. It is not unusual for the disease to be identified in the course of medical investigations for seemingly unrelated problems.

If celiac disease is suspected, based on symptoms, physical appearance, or delayed growth, a blood test should be ordered. This test looks for the antibodies to gluten (called antigliadin, anti-endomysium, and antireticulin) that the immune system produces in celiac disease. Antibodies are chemicals produced by the immune system in response to substances such as germs and other potentially harmful substances. Some experts advocate not just evaluating patients with symptoms, but using these blood studies as a screening test for high-risk individuals, such as those with relatives (especially first-degree relatives) known to have the disorder. An abnormal result points toward celiac disease, but further tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis. Because celiac disease affects the ability of the body to absorb nutrients from food, several tests may be ordered to look for nutritional deficiencies. For example, doctors may order a test of iron levels in the blood because low levels of iron (anemia) may accompany celiac disease. Doctors may also order a test for fat in the stool, since celiac disease prevents the body from absorbing fat from food.

If these tests are suspicious for celiac disease, the next step is a biopsy (surgical removal of a tiny piece of tissue) of the small intestine. This is usually done by a gastroenterologist, a physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating bowel disorders. It is generally performed in the office or in a hospital's outpatient department. The patient remains awake but is sedated. A narrow tube, called an endoscope, is passed through the mouth, down through the stomach, and into the small intestine. A small sample of tissue is taken and sent to the laboratory for analysis. If it shows a pattern of tissue damage characteristic of celiac disease, the diagnosis is established.

Treatment

The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet (GFD). This diet is easy for the doctor to prescribe but may be difficult for a child to follow. For most people, adhering to this diet stops symptoms and prevents damage to the intestines. Damaged villi can be functional again in three to six months. This diet must be followed permanently, however. The fact that people had symptoms that were cured by the GFD is further evidence that the diagnosis was correct.

The physician will periodically recheck the level of antibody in the child's blood. After several months, the small intestine is biopsied again. If the diagnosis of celiac disease was correct (and the child followed the rigorous diet), healing of the intestine will be apparent. Most experts agree that it is necessary to follow these steps in order to be sure of an accurate diagnosis. Disorders other than celiac disease can cause a similar type of villus atrophy, especially in children under two years of age, so rechecking the intestine is especially important for very young children. If healing is evident, then gluten is reintroduced to the diet and a third biopsy is performed weeks to months later to see if the reintroduction of gluten results in villus atropy again. If the atrophy returns, the child has celiac disease, and a gluten-free diet should be continued for life.

A child with undiagnosed celiac disease may become very ill with severe diarrhea and malnutrition. Corticosteroids such as prednisone and intravenous (IV) fluids may be temporarily given while the child begins a GFD. Because celiac disease is diagnosed more quickly than in the past, corticosteroids are seldom required.

Nutritional Concerns

Although there is no risk and much potential benefit to the use of GFD for treatment of celiac disease, the widespread use of gluten-containing grains in Western cultures makes adapting to a gluten-free diet challenging. Gluten is present in any product that contains wheat, rye, barley, or oats. It helps make bread rise and gives many foods a smooth, pleasing texture. In addition to the many obvious places gluten can be found in a normal diet, such as breads, cereals, and pasta, there are many hidden sources of gluten. Thickening agents, emulsifiers, fillers, flavor enhancers, and food stabilizers as well as products used in food packaging may contain gluten. Gluten may even be present on surfaces used for food preparation or cooking.

Fresh foods that have not been artificially processed, such as fruits, vegetables, and meats, are permitted as part of a GFD. Gluten-free foods can be found in health food stores and in some supermarkets. Mail-order food companies often have a selection of gluten-free products. Help in dietary planning is available from dieticians (healthcare professionals specializing in food and nutrition) or from support groups for individuals with celiac disease. There are many cookbooks on the market specifically for those on a GFD.

Prognosis

Treating celiac disease with a strict GFD is almost always completely effective. Gastrointestinal complaints and other symptoms are alleviated. Secondary complications, such as anemia and osteoporosis, resolve in almost all patients. People who have experienced lactose intolerance related to their celiac disease usually see those symptoms subside as well.

Once the diet has been followed for several years, individuals with celiac disease have similar mortality rates as the general population. However, about 10 percent of people with celiac disease develop a cancer involving the gastrointestinal tract (both carcinoma and lymphoma).

A few patients develop a refractory type of celiac disease, in which the GFD no longer seems effective. Once the diet has been thoroughly assessed to ensure no hidden sources of gluten are causing the problem, medications may be prescribed. Steroids or immunosuppressant drugs are often used to try to control the disease. It is unclear whether these efforts meet with much success.

Experts emphasize the need for lifelong adherence to the GFD to avoid the long-term complications of this disorder. They point out that although the disease may have symptom-free periods if the diet is not followed, silent damage continues to occur. Celiac disease cannot be outgrown or cured, according to medical authorities.

Prevention

There is no way to prevent celiac disease. However, the key to decreasing its impact on overall health is early diagnosis and strict adherence to the prescribed GFD.

Parental Concerns

For parents used to preparing gluten-containing meals, searching for and cooking with gluten-free products may be difficult at first. Changing cooking habits will be easier if initially gluten-free recipes and food products are used. When they use any commercial food products, they must read carefully the list of ingredients. Although ingredients are listed in order of decreasing content, any product containing the smallest of amount of gluten must be avoided. Many food manufacturers are willing to provide additional information about their products. Most food labels contain addresses of the manufacturers and many include a toll-free telephone number. Some restaurants have ingredient lists for their products posted in the restaurant or available on request.

When a child with celiac disease eats at a friend's house, the friend's parent should be aware of the child's dietary limitations. The child may have to take lunch from home to eat at school, unless the school has a dietician who can ensure that gluten-free food is provided for the child.

Family support is important in ensuring acceptance of the diet. The child must not be made to feel that he/she is abnormal and a nuisance to the family. After the GFD is begun, the benefits to the child with celiac disease will initially be obvious and enthusiastically accepted. However, as the child gets older, the period of ill health may be forgotten, and the child may be reject the diet, especially during adolescence, when there is a desire for conformity. Unfortunately, in older children, the symptoms may not reappear immediately although intestinal damage is occurring. The child may interpret the delay in the return of symptoms as evidence that the child has recovered from celiac disease, but they have not, as celiac disease cannot be cured.

Resources

Books

Icon Health Publications. The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Celiac Disease. San Diego, CA: Icon Health Publications, 2002.

Korn, Danna. Kids with Celiac Disease. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2001.

Kruszka, Bonnie J., and Richard S. Cihlar. Eating Gluten-Free with Emily. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2004.

Sanderson, Sheri L. Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2002.

Organizations

American Celiac Society. 58 Musano Court, West Orange, NJ 07052. Telephone: 201/325–8837.

Celiac Disease Foundation. 13251 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1, Studio City, CA 91604–1838. Web site: .

Celiac Sprue Association/United State of America (CSA/USA). PO Box 31700, Omaha, NE 68131–0700. Web site: www.csaceliacs.org.

Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. PO Box 23053, Seattle, WA, 98102–0353. Web site: www.gluten.net.

National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics, American Dietetic Association. 216 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606–6995. Telephone: 800/366–1655. Web site: www.unl.edu2020/alpha/National_Center_for_Nutrition_and_Dietetics.html.

ROCK: Raising Our Celiac Children. 216 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606–6995. Telephone: 800/366–1655. Web site: www.celiac.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?p_catid=8.

Web Sites

"Celiac Disease." National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 2004. Available online at (accessed October 25, 2004).

Celiac Disease and Diet Support Center. Available online at www.celiac.com/ (accessed October 25, 2004).

Other

Gluten-Free Living, a bimonthly newsletter. PO Box 105, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706. Available online at www.glutenfreeliving.com/ (accessed October 25, 2004).

[Article by: Judith Sims, MS Amy Vance, MS, CGC]




Digestive disorder in which people cannot tolerate gluten, a protein constituent of wheat, barley, malt, and rye flours. In celiac disease, gluten generates an immune response that damages the mucous lining of the small intestine; it is believed that a deficiency of gluten-digesting enzymes may underlie the disease. Poor nutrient absorption causes foul, bulky, fatty stools; malnutrition; stunting of growth; and anemia similar to pernicious anemia. It can run in families. Children begin having intermittent intestinal upset, diarrhea, and wasting at 6 – 21 months. In adults it usually begins after 30, with appetite loss, depression, irritability, and diarrhea. Symptoms in advanced cases stem from nutritional deficiencies and may require supportive measures. A high-protein diet low in glutens and saturated fats usually relieves symptoms.

For more information on celiac disease, visit Britannica.com.

Wikipedia: Coeliac disease
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Coeliac disease
Classification and external resources

Biopsy of small bowel showing coeliac disease manifested by blunting of villi, crypt hyperplasia, and lymphocyte infiltration of crypts
ICD-10 K90.0
ICD-9 579.0
OMIM 212750
DiseasesDB 2922
MedlinePlus 000233
eMedicine med/308 ped/2146 radio/652
MeSH D002446

Coeliac disease (pronounced /ˈsiːli.æk/; spelled celiac disease in North America[1]) is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward. Symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, failure to thrive (in children), and fatigue, but these may be absent, and symptoms in other organ systems have been described. A growing portion of diagnoses are being made in asymptomatic persons as a result of increased screening.[2]

Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to gliadin, a prolamin (gluten protein) found in wheat, and similar proteins found in the crops of the tribe Triticeae (which includes other cultivars such as barley and rye). Upon exposure to gliadin, and certain other prolamins, the enzyme tissue transglutaminase modifies the protein, and the immune system cross-reacts with the small-bowel tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. That leads to a truncating of the villi lining the small intestine (called villous atrophy). This interferes with the absorption of nutrients, because the intestinal villi are responsible for absorption. The only known effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. While the disease is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins, it is not the same as wheat allergy.

This condition has several other names, including: cœliac disease (with œ ligature), c(o)eliac sprue, non-tropical sprue, endemic sprue, gluten enteropathy or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, and gluten intolerance. The term coeliac derives from the Greek κοιλιακός (koiliakόs, "abdominal"), and was introduced in the 19th century in a translation of what is generally regarded as an ancient Greek description of the disease by Aretaeus of Cappadocia.[3]

Contents

Signs and symptoms

Classic symptoms of coeliac disease include abdominal distension, vomiting, diarrhoea, weight loss (or stunted growth in children), and fatigue, but while coeliac disease is primarily a bowel disease, bowel symptoms may also be limited or even absent. Some patients are diagnosed with symptoms related to the decreased absorption of nutrients or with various symptoms which, although statistically linked, have no clear relationship with the malfunctioning bowel. Given this wide range of possible symptoms, the classic triad is no longer a requirement for diagnosis.

Children between 9 and 24 months tend to present with bowel symptoms and growth problems shortly after first exposure to gluten-containing products, pyloric stenosis sometimes being a factor. Older children may have more malabsorption-related problems and psychosocial problems, while adults generally have malabsorptive problems.[4] Many adults with subtle disease only have fatigue or anaemia.[2]

Gastrointestinal

The diarrhoea characteristic of coeliac disease is pale, voluminous and malodorous. Abdominal pain and cramping, bloatedness with abdominal distension (thought to be due to fermentative production of bowel gas) and mouth ulcers[5] may be present. As the bowel becomes more damaged, a degree of lactose intolerance may develop. However, the variety of gastrointestinal symptoms that may be present in patients with coeliac disease is great, and some may have a normal bowel habit or even tend towards constipation. Frequently, the symptoms are ascribed to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), only later to be recognised as coeliac disease; a small proportion of patients with symptoms of IBS have underlying coeliac disease, and screening may be justified.[6]

Coeliac disease leads to an increased risk of both adenocarcinoma and lymphoma of the small bowel, which returns to baseline with diet. Longstanding disease may lead to other complications, such as ulcerative jejunitis (ulcer formation of the small bowel) and stricturing (narrowing as a result of scarring).[7]

Malabsorption-related

The changes in the bowel make it less able to absorb nutrients, minerals and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.[4]

Miscellaneous

Coeliac disease has been linked with a number of conditions. In many cases, it is unclear whether the gluten-induced bowel disease is a causative factor or whether these conditions share a common predisposition.

Other grains

Wheat varieties or subspecies containing gluten and related species such as barley and rye also induce symptoms of coeliac disease.[19] A small minority of coeliac patients also react to oats.[20][21] It is most probable that oats produce symptoms due to cross contamination with other grains in the fields or in the distribution channels.[4] Generally, oats are therefore not recommended,[19] though gluten-free oats are available in some locales and may be tried with caution.[22] Other cereals such as maize (corn), quinoa, millet, sorghum, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, rice, and wild rice are safe for patients to consume.[23] Non-cereal carbohydrate-rich foods such as potatoes and bananas do not contain gluten and do not trigger symptoms.

Diagnosis

There are several tests that can be used to assist in diagnosis. The level of symptoms may determine the order of the tests, but all tests lose their usefulness if the patient is already taking a gluten-free diet. Intestinal damage begins to heal within weeks of gluten being removed from the diet, and antibody levels decline over months. For those who have already started on a gluten-free diet, it may be necessary to perform a re-challenge with 10 g of gluten (four slices of bread) per day over 2–6 weeks before repeating the investigations. Those who experience severe symptoms (e.g. diarrhoea) earlier can be regarded as sufficiently challenged and can be tested earlier.[4]

Combining findings into a prediction rule to guide use of endoscopy reported a sensitivity of 100% (it would identify all the cases) and specificity of 61% (it would be incorrectly positive in 39%). The prediction rule recommends that patients with high-risk symptoms or positive serology should undergo endoscopy. The study defined high-risk symptoms as weight loss, anaemia (haemoglobin less than 120 g/l in females or less than 130 g/l in males), or diarrhoea (more than three loose stools per day).[24]

Blood tests

Antibody testing

Serological blood tests are the first-line investigation required to make a diagnosis of coeliac disease. Serology for anti-tTG antibodies has superseded older serological tests and has a high sensitivity (99%) and specificity (>90%) for identifying coeliac disease. Modern anti-tTG assays rely on a human recombinant protein as an antigen.[25]

Because of the major implications of a diagnosis of coeliac disease, professional guidelines recommend that a positive blood test is still followed by an endoscopy/gastroscopy and biopsy. A negative serology test may still be followed by a recommendation for endoscopy and duodenal biopsy if clinical suspicion remains high due to the 1 in 100 "false-negative" result. As such, tissue biopsy is still considered the gold standard in the diagnosis of coeliac disease.[4][7]

Historically three other antibodies were measured: anti-reticulin (ARA), anti-gliadin (AGA) and anti-endomysium (EMA) antibodies. Serology may be unreliable in young children, with anti-gliadin performing somewhat better than other tests in children under five.[26] Serology tests are based on indirect immunofluorescence (reticulin, gliadin and endomysium) or ELISA (gliadin or tissue transglutaminase, tTG).[27]

Guidelines recommend that a total serum IgA level is checked in parallel, as coeliac patients with IgA deficiency may be unable to produce the antibodies on which these tests depend ("false negative"). In those patients, IgG antibodies against transglutaminase (IgG-tTG) may be diagnostic.[28]

Blood HLA tests for coeliac disease[29]
Test sensitivity specificity
HLA-DQ2 94% 73%
HLA-DQ8 12% 81%

HLA genetic typing

Antibody testing and HLA testing have similar accuracies.[29]

Endoscopy

Endoscopic still of duodenum of patient with coeliac disease showing scalloping of folds
Schematic of the Marsh classification of upper jejunal pathology in coeliac disease

An upper endoscopy with biopsy of the duodenum (beyond the duodenal bulb) or jejunum is performed. It is important for the physician to obtain multiple samples (four to eight) from the duodenum. Not all areas may be equally affected; if biopsies are taken from healthy bowel tissue, the result would be a false negative.[7]

Most patients with coeliac disease have a small bowel that appears normal on endoscopy; however, five concurrent endoscopic findings have been associated with a high specificity for coeliac disease: scalloping of the small bowel folds (pictured), paucity in the folds, a mosaic pattern to the mucosa (described as a "cracked-mud" appearance), prominence of the submucosa blood vessels, and a nodular pattern to the mucosa.[30]

Until the 1970s, biopsies were obtained using metal capsules attached to a suction device. The capsule was swallowed and allowed to pass into the small intestine. After x-ray verification of its position, suction was applied to collect part of the intestinal wall inside the capsule. One often-utilised capsule system is the Watson capsule. This method has now been largely replaced by fibre-optic endoscopy, which carries a higher sensitivity and a lower frequency of errors.[31]

Pathology

The classic pathology changes of coeliac disease in the small bowel are categorised by the "Marsh classification":[32]

The changes classically improve or reverse after gluten is removed from the diet, so many official guidelines recommend a repeat biopsy several (4–6) months after commencement of gluten exclusion.[4]

In some cases, a deliberate gluten challenge, followed by biopsy, may be conducted to confirm or refute the diagnosis. A normal biopsy and normal serology after challenge indicates the diagnosis may have been incorrect.[4] Patients are warned that one does not "outgrow" coeliac disease in the same way as childhood food intolerances.

Other diagnostic tests

Other tests that may assist in the diagnosis are blood tests for a full blood count, electrolytes, calcium, renal function, liver enzymes, vitamin B12 and folic acid levels. Coagulation testing (prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time) may be useful to identify deficiency of vitamin K, which predisposes patients to hemorrhage. These tests should be repeated on follow-up, as well as anti-tTG titres.[4]

Some professional guidelines[4] recommend screening of all patients for osteoporosis by DXA/DEXA scanning.

Pathophysiology

Coeliac disease appears to be polyfactorial, both in that more than one genetic factor can cause the disease and that more than one factor is necessary for the disease to manifest in a patient.

Almost all coeliac patients have the variant HLA DQ2 allele.[2] However, about 20–30% of people without coeliac disease have inherited an HLA-DQ2 allele.[29] This suggests additional factors are needed for coeliac disease to develop. Furthermore, about 5% of those people who do develop coeliac disease do not have the DQ2 gene.[2]

The HLA-DQ2 allele shows incomplete penetrance, as the gene alleles associated with the disease appear in most patients but are neither present in all cases nor sufficient by themselves to cause the disease.

Genetics

DQ α52 -binding cleft with a deamidated gliadin peptide (yellow), modified from PDB 1S9V[33]

The vast majority of coeliac patients have one of two types of HLA-DQ.[29] This gene is part of the MHC class II antigen-presenting receptor (also called the human leukocyte antigen) system and distinguishes cells between self and non-self for the purposes of the immune system. The gene is located on the short arm of the sixth chromosome, and as a result of the linkage, this locus has been labeled CELIAC1.

There are seven HLA DQ variants (DQ2 and DQ4–DQ9). Over 95% of coeliac patients have the isoform of DQ2 or DQ8, which is inherited in families. The reason these genes produce an increase in risk of coeliac disease is that the receptors formed by these genes bind to gliadin peptides more tightly than other forms of the antigen-presenting receptor. Therefore, these forms of the receptor are more likely to activate T lymphocytes and initiate the autoimmune process.[2]

Most coeliac patients bear a two-gene HLA-DQ2 haplotype referred to as DQ2.5 haplotype. This haplotype is composed of two adjacent gene alleles, DQA1*0501 and DQB1*0201, which encode the two subunits, DQ α5 and DQ β2. In most individuals, this DQ2.5 isoform is encoded by one of two chromosomes 6 inherited from parents. Most coeliacs inherit only one copy of this DQ2.5 haplotype, while some inherit it from both parents; the latter are especially at risk for coeliac disease, as well as being more susceptible to severe complications.[34] Some individuals inherit DQ2.5 from one parent and portions of the haplotype (DQB1*02 or DQA1*05) from the other parent, increasing risk. Less commonly, some individuals inherit the DQA1*05 allele from one parent and the DQB1*02 from the other parent, called a trans-haplotype association, and these individuals are at similar risk for coeliac disease as those with a single DQ2.5-bearing chromosome 6, but in this instance, disease tends not to be familial. Among the 6% of European coeliacs that do not have DQ2.5 (cis or trans) or DQ8 (encoded by the haplotype DQA1*03:DQB1*0302), 4% have the DQ2.2 isoform, and the remaining 2% lack DQ2 or DQ8.[35]

The frequency of these genes varies geographically. DQ2.5 has high frequency in peoples of North and Western Europe (Basque Country and Ireland[36] with highest frequencies) and portions of Africa and is associated with disease in India,[37] but is not found along portions of the West Pacific rim. DQ8, spread more globally than DQ2.5, is more prevalent from South and Central America (up to 90% phenotype frequency).[38]

Prolamins

The majority of the proteins in food responsible for the immune reaction in coeliac disease are the prolamins. These are storage proteins rich in proline (prol-) and glutamine (-amin) that dissolve in alcohols and are resistant to proteases and peptidases of the gut.[2][39] Prolamins are found in cereal grains with different grains having different but related prolamins: wheat (gliadin), barley (hordein), rye (secalin), corn (zein) and as a minor protein, avenin in oats. One region of α-gliadin stimulates membrane cells, enterocytes, of the intestine to allow larger molecules around the sealant between cells. Disruption of tight junctions allow peptides larger than three amino acids to enter circulation.[40]

Illustration of deamidated α-2 gliadin's 33mer, amino acids 56-88, showing the overlapping of three varieties of T-cell epitope[41]

Membrane leaking permits peptides of gliadin that stimulate two levels of immune response, the innate response and the adaptive (T-helper cell mediated) response. One protease-resistant peptide from α-gliadin contains a region that stimulates lymphocytes and results in the release of interleukin-15. This innate response to gliadin results in immune-system signalling that attracts inflammatory cells and increases the release of inflammatory chemicals.[2] The strongest and most common adaptive response to gliadin is directed toward an α2-gliadin fragment of 33 amino acids in length.[2] The response to 33mer occurs in most coeliacs who have a DQ2 isoform. This peptide, when altered by intestinal transglutaminase, has a high density of overlapping T-cell epitopes. This increases the likelihood that the DQ2 isoform will bind and stay bound to peptide when recognised by T-cells.[41] Gliadin in wheat is the best-understood member of this family, but other prolamins exist, and hordein (from barley) and secalin (from rye) may contribute to coeliac disease.[2][42] However, not all prolamins will cause this immune reaction, and there is ongoing controversy on the ability of avenin (the prolamin found in oats) to induce this response in coeliac disease.

Tissue transglutaminase

Anti-transglutaminase antibodies to the enzyme tissue transglutaminase (tTG) are found in an overwhelming majority of cases.[43] Tissue transglutaminase modifies gluten peptides into a form that may stimulate the immune system more effectively.[2] These peptides are modified by tTG in two ways, deamidation or transamidation.[44] Deamidation is the reaction by which a glutamate residue is formed by cleavage of the epsilon-amino group of a glutamine side chain. Transamidation, which occurs three times more often than deamidation, is the cross-linking of a glutamine residue from the gliadin peptide to a lysine residue of tTg in a reaction which is catalyzed by the transglutaminase. Crosslinking may occur either within or outside the active site of the enzyme. The latter case yields a permanently, covelently linked complex between the gliadin and the tTg.[45] This results in the formation of new epitopes which are believed to trigger the primary immune response by which the autoantibodies against tTg develop [46][47][48]

Stored biopsies from suspected coeliac patients have revealed that autoantibody deposits in the subclinical coeliacs are detected prior to clinical disease. These deposits are also found in patients who present with other autoimmune diseases, anaemia or malabsorption phenomena at a much-increased rate over the normal population.[49] Endomysial components of antibodies (EMA) to tTG are believed to be directed toward cell-surface transglutaminase, and these antibodies are still used in confirming a coeliac disease diagnosis. However, a 2006 study showed that EMA-negative coeliac patients tend to be older males with more severe abdominal symptoms and a lower frequency of "atypical" symptoms including autoimmune disease.[50] In this study, the anti-tTG antibody deposits did not correlate with the severity of villous destruction. These findings, coupled with recent work showing that gliadin has an innate response component,[51] suggests that gliadin may be more responsible for the primary manifestations of coeliac disease, whereas tTG is a bigger factor in secondary effects such as allergic responses and secondary autoimmune diseases. In a large percentage of coeliac patients, the anti-tTG antibodies also recognise a rotavirus protein called VP7. These antibodies stimulate monocyte proliferation, and rotavirus infection might explain some early steps in the cascade of immune cell proliferation.[52] Indeed, earlier studies of rotavirus damage in the gut showed this causes a villous atrophy.[53] This suggests that viral proteins may take part in the initial flattening and stimulate self-crossreactive anti-VP7 production. Antibodies to VP7 may also slow healing until the gliadin-mediated tTG presentation provides a second source of crossreactive antibodies.

Villous atrophy and malabsorption

The inflammatory process, mediated by T cells, leads to disruption of the structure and function of the small bowel's mucosal lining and causes malabsorption as it impairs the body's ability to absorb nutrients, minerals and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K from food. Lactose intolerance may be present due to the decreased bowel surface and reduced production of lactase but typically resolves once the condition is treated.

Alternative causes of this tissue damage have been proposed and involve release of interleukin 15 and activation of the innate immune system by a shorter gluten peptide (p31–43/49). This would trigger killing of enterocytes by lymphocytes in the epithelium.[2] The villous atrophy seen on biopsy may also be due to unrelated causes, such as tropical sprue, giardiasis and radiation enteritis. While positive serology and typical biopsy are highly suggestive of coeliac disease, lack of response to diet may require these alternative diagnoses to be considered.[7]

Risk modifiers

There are various theories as to what determines whether a genetically susceptible individual will go on to develop coeliac disease. Major theories include infection by rotavirus[54] or human intestinal adenovirus.[55] Some research has suggested that smoking is protective against adult-onset coeliac disease.[56]

A 2005 prospective and observational study found that timing of the exposure to gluten in childhood was an important risk modifier. People exposed to wheat, barley, or rye before the gut barrier has fully developed (within the first three months after birth) had five times the risk of developing coeliac disease relative to those exposed at four to six months after birth. Those exposed even later than six months after birth were found to have only a slightly increased risk relative to those exposed at four to six months after birth.[57] A study conducted in 2006 showed that early introduction of grains was protective against grain allergies; however, this study explicitly excluded any participants found to have coeliac disease and therefore offers no help in this regard.[58] Breastfeeding may also reduce risk. A meta-analysis indicates that prolonging breastfeeding until the introduction of gluten-containing grains into the diet was associated with a 52% reduced risk of developing coeliac disease in infancy; whether this persists into adulthood is not clear.[59]

Screening

There is significant debate as to the benefits of screening. Some studies suggest that early detection would decrease the risk of osteoporosis and anaemia. In contrast, a cohort study in Cambridge suggested that people with undetected coeliac disease had a beneficial risk profile for cardiovascular disease (less overweight, lower cholesterol levels).[2]

Due to its high sensitivity, serology has been proposed as a screening measure, because the presence of antibodies would detect previously undiagnosed cases of coeliac disease and prevent its complications in those patients. Serology may also be used to monitor adherence to diet: in those who still ingest gluten, antibody levels remain elevated.[4][7]

In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends screening for coeliac disease in patients with newly diagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome[60] and irritable bowel syndrome.[61]

Other clinical scenarios in which screening may be justified include type 1 diabetes,[15] unexplained iron-deficiency anaemia,[62][63] Down's syndrome, Turner's syndrome, lupus, and autoimmune thyroid disease.[64]

Treatment

Diet

At present, the only effective treatment is a life-long gluten-free diet.[19] No medication exists that will prevent damage or prevent the body from attacking the gut when gluten is present. Strict adherence to the diet allows the intestines to heal, leading to resolution of all symptoms in most cases and, depending on how soon the diet is begun, can also eliminate the heightened risk of osteoporosis and intestinal cancer.[65] Dietician input is generally requested to ensure the patient is aware which foods contain gluten, which foods are safe, and how to have a balanced diet despite the limitations. In many countries, gluten-free products are available on prescription and may be reimbursed by health insurance plans.

The diet can be cumbersome; failure to comply with the diet may cause relapse. The term gluten-free is generally used to indicate a supposed harmless level of gluten rather than a complete absence.[66] The exact level at which gluten is harmless is uncertain and controversial. A recent systematic review tentatively concluded that consumption of less than 10 mg of gluten per day is unlikely to cause histological abnormalities, although it noted that few reliable studies had been done.[66] Regulation of the label gluten-free varies widely by country. For example, in the United States, the term gluten-free is not yet regulated.[67] The current international Codex Alimentarius standard, established in 1981, allows for 50 mg N/100 g on dry matter,[68] although a proposal for a revised standard of 20 ppm in naturally gluten-free products and 200 ppm in products rendered gluten-free has been accepted.[69] Gluten-free products are usually more expensive and harder to find than common gluten-containing foods.[70] Since ready-made products often contain traces of gluten, some coeliacs may find it necessary to cook from scratch.[69]

Even while on a diet, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) may be lower in people with coeliac disease. Studies in the United States have found that quality of life becomes comparable to the general population after staying on the diet, while studies in Europe have found that quality of life remains lower, although the surveys are not quite the same.[71] Men tend to report more improvement than women.[72] Some have persisting digestive symptoms or dermatitis herpetiformis, mouth ulcers, osteoporosis and resultant fractures. Symptoms suggestive of irritable bowel syndrome may be present, and there is an increased rate of anxiety, fatigue, dyspepsia and musculoskeletal pain.[73]

Everyone is different, but many people with coeliac disease also have one or more[74] additional food allergies or food intolerances, which may include milk protein (casein),[75] corn (maize),[76][77] soy,[74] amines,[74] or salicylates.[74]

Refractory disease

A tiny minority of patients suffer from refractory disease, which means they do not improve on a gluten-free diet. This may be because the disease has been present for so long that the intestines are no longer able to heal on diet alone, or because the patient is not adhering to the diet, or because the patient is consuming foods that are inadvertently contaminated with gluten. If alternative causes have been eliminated, steroids or immunosuppressants (such as azathioprine) may be considered in this scenario.[7]

Experimental treatments

Various other approaches are being studied that would reduce the need of dieting. All are still under development, and are not expected to be available to the general public for a while:[2]

  • Genetically engineered wheat species, or wheat species that have been selectively bred to be minimally immunogenic. This, however, could interfere with the effects that gliadin has on the quality of dough.
  • A combination of enzymes (prolyl endopeptidase and a barley glutamine-specific cysteine endopeptidase (EP-B2)) that degrade the putative 33-mer peptide in the duodenum. This combination would enable coeliac disease patients to consume gluten-containing products.[78]
  • Inhibition of zonulin, an endogenous signalling protein linked to increased permeability of the bowel wall and hence increased presentation of gliadin to the immune system.[79]
  • Other treatments aimed at other well-understood steps in the pathogenesis of coeliac disease, such as the action of HLA-DQ2 or tissue transglutaminase and the MICA/NKG2D interaction that may be involved in the killing of enterocytes (bowel lining cells).

Epidemiology

The prevalence of clinically diagnosed disease (symptoms prompting diagnostic testing) is 0.05–0.27% in various studies. However, population studies from parts of Europe, India, South America, Australasia and the USA (using serology and biopsy) indicate that the prevalence may be between 0.33 and 1.06% in children (5.66% in one study of Sahrawi children[80]) and 0.18–1.2% in adults.[2] People of African, Japanese and Chinese descent are rarely diagnosed; this reflects a much lower prevalence of the genetic risk factors. Population studies also indicate that a large proportion of coeliacs remain undiagnosed; this is due to many clinicians being unfamiliar with the condition.[81]

A large multicentre study in the U.S. found a prevalence of 0.75% in not-at-risk groups, rising to 1.8% in symptomatic patients, 2.6% in second-degree relatives of a patient with coeliac disease and 4.5% in first-degree relatives. This profile is similar to the prevalence in Europe.[82] Other populations at increased risk for coeliac disease, with prevalence rates ranging from 5% to 10%, include individuals with Down and Turner syndromes, type 1 diabetes, and autoimmune thyroid disease, including both hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) and hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).[83]

Historically, coeliac disease was thought to be rare, with a prevalence of about 0.02%.[83] Recent increases in the number of reported cases may be due to changes in diagnostic practice,[84] however there is evidence that coeliac disease may be becoming more common in the United States.[85]

Social and religious issues

Christian churches & the Eucharist

Most mainstream Christian churches offer their communicants gluten-free alternatives to the sacramental bread, usually in the form of a rice-based cracker or gluten-free bread. These include United Methodist, Christian Reformed, Episcopal, Lutheran, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and many others.[86]

Roman Catholic position

Roman Catholic doctrine states that for a valid Eucharist, the bread must be made from wheat. In 2002, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith approved German-made low-gluten hosts, which meet all of the Catholic Church's requirements, for use in Italy; although not entirely gluten-free, they were also approved by the Italian Celiac Association.[87] Some Catholic coeliac sufferers have requested permission to use rice wafers; such petitions have always been denied.[88] The issue is more complex for priests. Though a Catholic (lay or ordained) receiving under either form is receiving Christ "whole and entire"—his body, blood, soul, and divinity—the priest, who is acting in persona Christi, is required to receive under both species when offering Mass—not for the validity of his Communion, but for the fullness of the sacrifice of the Mass. On 22 August 1994, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith apparently barred coeliacs from ordination, stating, "Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of the priest, candidates for the priesthood who are affected by coeliac disease or suffer from alcoholism or similar conditions may not be admitted to holy orders." After considerable debate, the congregation softened the ruling on 24 July 2003 to "Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucharist in the life of a priest, one must proceed with great caution before admitting to Holy Orders those candidates unable to ingest gluten or alcohol without serious harm."[89]

As of January 2004, an extremely low-gluten host became available in the United States. The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, Missouri, produce low-gluten hosts safe for coeliacs and also approved by the Catholic Church for use at Mass. The hosts are made and packaged in a dedicated wheat-free, gluten-free environment. Gluten-content analysis found no detectable amount of gluten, though the reported gluten content is 0.01% as that was the lowest limit of detection possible with the utilized analysis technique. In an article from the Catholic Review (15 February 2004), Dr. Alessio Fasano was quoted as declaring these hosts "perfectly safe for celiac sufferers."[90]

Passover

The Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover) may present problems with its obligation to eat matzo, which is unleavened bread made in a strictly controlled manner from wheat, barley, spelt, oats, or rye. This rules out many other grains that are normally used as substitutes for people with gluten sensitivity, especially for Ashkenazi Jews, who also avoid rice. Many kosher-for-Passover products avoid grains altogether and are therefore gluten-free. Potato starch is the primary starch used to replace the grains. Consuming matzo is mandatory on the first night of Pesach only. Jewish law holds that a person should not seriously endanger one's health in order to fulfill a commandment. Thus, a person with severe coeliac disease is not required, or even allowed, to eat any matzo other than gluten-free matzo. The most commonly used gluten-free matzo is made from oats.[91]

History

Aretaeus of Cappadocia, living in the second century, recorded a malabsorptive syndrome with chronic diarrhoea. His "Cœliac Affection" (coeliac from Greek κοιλιακός koiliakos, "abdominal") gained the attention of Western medicine when Francis Adams presented a translation of Aretaeus's work at the Sydenham Society in 1856. The patient had stomach pain and was atrophied, pale, feeble and incapable of work. The diarrhoea manifested as loose stools that were white, malodorous and flatulent, and the disease was intractable and liable to periodic return. The problem, Aretaeus believed, was a lack of heat in the stomach necessary to digest the food and a reduced ability to distribute the digestive products throughout the body, this incomplete digestion resulting in the diarrhoea. He regarded this as an affliction of the old and more commonly affecting women, explicitly excluding children. The cause, according to Aretaeus, was sometimes either another chronic disease or even consuming "a copious draught of cold water."[3]

The paediatrician Samuel Gee gave the first modern-day description of the condition in a lecture at Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London, in 1887. Gee acknowledged earlier descriptions and terms for the disease and adopted the same term as Aretaeus (coeliac disease). Unlike Aretaeus, he included children in the scope of the affliction, particularly those between one and five years old. Gee found the cause to be obscure and failed to spot anything abnormal during post-mortem examination (the lining of the small bowel quickly deteriorates on death).[92] He perceptively stated, "If the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet." Gee recognised that milk intolerance is a problem with coeliac children and that highly starched foods should be avoided. However, he forbade rice, sago, fruit and vegetables, which all would have been safe to eat, and he recommended raw meat as well as thin slices of toasted bread. Gee highlighted particular success with a child "who was fed upon a quart of the best Dutch mussels daily." However, the child could not bear this diet for more than one season.[93]

Christian Archibald Herter, an American physician, wrote a book in 1908 on children with coeliac disease, which he called "intestinal infantilism." He noted their growth was retarded and that fat was better tolerated than carbohydrate. The eponym Gee-Herter disease was sometimes used to acknowledge both contributions.[94][95] Sydney V. Haas, an American paediatrician, reported positive effects of a diet of bananas in 1924.[96] This diet remained in vogue until the actual cause of coeliac disease was determined.

While a role for carbohydrates had been suspected, the link with wheat was not made until the 1940s by the Dutch paediatrician Dr. Willem-Karel Dicke.[97] It is likely that clinical improvement of his patients during the Dutch famine of 1944 (during which flour was scarce) may have contributed to his discovery.[98].Dicke noticed that the shortage of bread led to a significant drop in the death rate among children affected by CD from greater than 35 percent to essentially zero. He also reported that once wheat was again available after the conflict, the mortality rate soared to previous levels [99] .The link with the gluten component of wheat was made in 1952 by a team from Birmingham, England.[100] Villous atrophy was described by British physician John W. Paulley in 1954.[101] Paulley was able to examine biopsies taken from patients during abdominal operations.[92] Dr. Margo Shiner, working on Prof. Sheila Sherlock's team at the Postgraduate Medical School in London, described the principles of small-bowel biopsy in 1956.[102]

Throughout the 1960s other features of coeliac disease were elucidated. Its hereditary character was recognised in 1965.[103] In 1966 dermatitis herpetiformis was linked to gluten sensitivity.[11]

References

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  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n van Heel D, West J (2006). "Recent advances in coeliac disease". Gut 55 (7): 1037–46. doi:10.1136/gut.2005.075119. PMID 16766754. http://gut.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/55/7/1037. 
  3. ^ a b Adams F, translator (1856). "On The Cœliac Affection". The extant works of Aretaeus, The Cappadocian. London: Sydenham Society. http://web.archive.org/web/20070311164628/http://www.chlt.org/sandbox/dh/aretaeusEnglish/page.102.a.php. Retrieved 2006-09-04.  See also Google Books entry
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Fitness. Food and Fitness: A Dictionary of Diet and Exercise. Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Children's Health Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Coeliac disease" Read more