New Classification System for Gluten-Related Disorders

Even though it seems like there are so many unanswered question out there about celiac disease, there's hope on the horizon that someday in the not too distant future we'll understand the root causes behind this autoimmune disease, or should I say "spectrum of a disease."

Just this morning I woke up to more good news in the field of celiac research as the Wall Street Journal covered the release of a new consensus paper published in the journal BMC Medicine that seeks to offer a new classification system for gluten-related disorders.

The paper was authored by 15 celiac disease experts from around the world (including Dr. Alessio Fasano from the Center for Celiac Research and Dr. Peter Green from the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University) and explains the clinical differences between celiac disease, gluten sensitivity and wheat allergies.

The researchers broke the findings down as follows:

• Celiac Disease patients experience an autoimmune response to gluten where the body mistakenly attacks itself. When eating gluten, patients in this group will develop antibodies that can be measured by a blood test and/or damage to the villi of the small intestine, which can be confirmed by a biopsy. There are more than 300 symptoms linked to celiac disease that can affect any system of the body.

• Wheat Allergy patients will experience a classic allergy response that may affect the skin, gastrointestinal tract or respiratory tract when they ingest gluten. Skin prick tests are considered the first line of testing for a wheat allergy. In these patients, a reaction will occur minutes to hours after ingestion of gluten.

• Gluten Sensitivity patients are sort of in a league of their own. This group of patients experiences symptoms similar to those of celiac disease patients when they eat gluten, yet there is no measureable reaction. This group of patients does not develop antibodies to gluten, nor do they exhibit signs of intestinal damage. The only method to diagnose a gluten sensitivity is for a patient to use an elimination diet to determine if his or her symptoms subside when gluten is not being consumed.

You can view the abstract and full study here:
Abstract: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/13/abstract

Full PDF: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1741-7015-10-13.pdf

A huge thank you to the team of researchers who worked on this consensus paper. It's wonderful to know that we're getting closer to understanding how gluten affects our bodies and how we can prevent long-term complications.

Comments

[Junk]

also, less than half of lyme patients ever see a besullye rash. if you do see a rash, that in itself is diagnostically indicative of lyme infection; but you can be infected without ever seeing a rash of any kind.

[Patrick]

Gluten is harmful to most pelope and anyone with Celiac should stay far away from it if possible. Who knows what is in this drug? What food companies should do is stop putting gluten in everything and then pelope with Celiac would not have to take this pill. It's ridiculous!

[Alex]

I was just telling my hbnausd this morning that I would love to be able to travel with ease again. Thanks to Celiac, we rent houses, and I cook for the week before and freeze meals that are safe for me to eat. We maybe get to eat out twice depending on where we are vacationing. I would remain gluten free at home, but, oh, the joy at being able to eat without worry. Celiac isn't the worst thing to have, but it would be lovely to be able to dine out easily while traveling. It would also be nice for my family not to be limited in choices thanks to my inferior peptides. Better living through chemistry!

[Nikita]

After three years gluten free, I don't even like the taste of goods made with wtheean flours anymore! But I do still love baking..and I'd use these to make shortbread and blondies for some GF friends!

[Claudia]

Oh man, I am so sorry It's never okay to ask someone if they're pranengt if you don't know!!! I mean I think your'e right, she probably didn't mean any harm, but man .you can't just ask people if they're pranengt. To answer your question though, I pretty much want to punch my coworker in the face every day.

[Cyn]

I'm one of those people who are considered sensitive to gluten. I have symptoms, but I'm not really setting off the tests at least not wildly. One test comes back positive. The other came back negative. Now they want a biopsy. We'll see how that goes. But I will say this, since I've started going gluten free (and it's been a process as I learn more about it), I've been having less and less symptoms. It's amazing that what I thought was IBS for years is actually from my gluten sensitivity.