Your doctor finally figured it out. You have Celiac Disease. If your story is anything like the millions of other Americans with this autoimmune condition, it probably took you several years of experiencing debilitating symptoms and visiting a slew of doctors to receive the proper diagnosis. The good news is that you have a correct diagnosis in hand and your life is about to change dramatically for the better. You’re going to be healthy and learn to eat delicious gluten-free food. Read through this short guide to understand more about the disease and how to best manage your gluten-free diet.
What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac Disease is a genetic autoimmune condition that affects the villi of the small intestine. What are villi? Villi are the fingerlike projections in your small intestine that are responsible for absorbing nutrients from food. When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, the villi are damaged and are no longer able to absorb the important nutrients in food needed for a strong and healthy body. Celiac disease affects about 1 in 100 people, or 3 million, people in the United States although only about 150,000 are currently diagnosed. That means that 95% of people with the disease are still waiting to be diagnosed.
What are the Most Common Symptoms?
According to the National Institutes of Health, symptoms of celiac disease vary greatly from person to person and occur in the digestive system and in other parts of the body. In fact, there are nearly 300 symptoms of celiac disease. Some of the most common include abdominal pain, bloating, chronic diarrhea, constipation, fatty stools, failure to thrive in infants, short stature, delayed puberty, dental enamel defects, irritability and weight loss.
Additionally, adults tend to report more symptoms out side of the digestive tract including anemia, bone or joint pain, arthritis, depression, numbness in hands and feet, seizures, infertility or pregnancy complications, canker sores in the mouth or an itchy skin rash called Dermatits Herpetiformis. You may experience one, multiple or none of these symptoms, which is why celiac disease has historically been difficult to diagnose. Researchers are currently hard at work to determine the reasons that celiac affects people in such different ways. Some suggest that the length of time a person was breastfed is the cause while others hypothesize that symptoms vary depending on age and the amount of damage in the small intestine.
Diagnosis & the Future of Celiac Screening
If you’re reading this article, you are probably already diagnosed or know someone who is, but it is still important to understand how celiac is diagnosed especially since it is a genetic condition. All family members of a person with celiac disease need to be screened.
There are several ways to get tested for celiac disease including:
Antibody Celiac Test
An antibody celiac test is measuring anti-endomysium and anti-tissue transglutaminase. The antibody test will determine the response a patient's body is having to the gluten protein. A person with Celiac Disease will have higher-than-normal antibody levels.
The antibody test is made up of a panel consisting of Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG-IgA), Total Serum IgA and anti-endomysial antibody (EMA-IgA). In order for the test to be accurate, patients must be eating gluten regularly. This is equivalent to about four servings per day for six weeks. If a patient has a positive antibody test, they will need a small intestine biopsy to confirm a Celiac diagnosis.
Genetic Testing
The genetic test for Celiac Disease is used for two reasons. The first is to rule out a Celiac Disease diagnosis if the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genes are not present. If a patient does not have these genes, it is nearly impossible for them to develop Celiac Disease. In this case, they would not need a follow-up antibody test or small intestine biopsy
The second reason for the genetic test is to determine a possible diagnosis in patients that are already living on a gluten-free diet. Having the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genes does not definitely mean a person has Celiac Disease, however it does put them in a high-risk group that requires further testing.
Small Intestine Biopsy
If a patient receives a positive antibody or genetic test, it is strongly recommended that he or she undergo a small bowel biopsy to determine if there is damage to the villi. The biopsy is taken using an endoscope, which is a long, thin tube that the physician weaves through the mouth and stomach to reach the small intestine. The biopsy is the gold standard of diagnosis and the only definite way to determine an accurate Celiac diagnosis.
Home Celiac Test Kit
The Biocard Celiac Test Kit is an at-home test that measures (anti-tTG) IgA antibodies from a fingertip blood sample. It works by taking a small blood sample from pricking your finger, mixing the blood with a buffer and applying the mixture onto a test cartridge. The test can be administered from the comfort of your own home and you’ll get results in just 10 minutes. The Biocard Celiac Test is positive if you have two red lines on the test cartridge. One red line appears in the control field, which indicates that you have done the test correctly. The second red line will only appear if you are having an immune system response to the gluten protein. If the test comes out positive for celiac disease, the makers of the test recommend consulting with a doctor to confirm the diagnosis with an intestinal biopsy.
According to the marketers of the test at 2G Pharma Inc., the test is as accurate as a tissue transglutaminase (tTG) laboratory test that your doctor would request. Additionally, a study published in the British Medical Journal found that the simple rapid antibody test allowed nurses working in primary care medical offices to detect celiac disease in patients who were not picked up during routine clinical care. The study evaluated 2,690 children around six years old and 120 nurses. The study found 31 newly diagnosed celiac patients. The rapid test accurately detected celiac disease in 30 of the 31 patients. The test will be available in late 2009 to everyone in the United States through their doctor or by ordering the test kit online.
The Biocard Celiac Test is a landmark development for the entire celiac community. It is the first time that patients will have immediate access to find out if they have the autoimmune disorder. It makes celiac disease as easy to diagnose as strep throat! It will also allow for simple mass screening, especially amongst family members of those already diagnosed.
Treatment of Celiac Disease
The only treatment for celiac disease is a lifelong gluten-free diet. This means eliminating all forms of wheat, rye and barley. Although research is well underway to find a treatment for the disease, there are currently no medications or surgeries to cure the disease.
