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Bio-physical Characteristics of Gastrointestinal Mucosa of Celiac Patients: Comparison with Control Subjects and Effect of Gluten-Free Diet
- By Jefferson Adams
- Published 11/28/2011
- Celiac Disease & Gluten Intolerance Research
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Jefferson Adams
Jefferson Adams is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. His poems, essays and photographs have appeared in Antioch Review, Blue Mesa Review, CALIBAN, Hayden's Ferry Review, Huffington Post, the Mississippi Review, and Slate among others.
View all articles by Jefferson AdamsA team of researchers recently compared bio-physical aspects of gastrointestinal mucosa of celiac patients with control subjects, along with the effects of gluten free diet on each group.
The research team included Stefania Bertolazzi, Francesco Lanzarotto, Barbara Zanini, Chiara Ricci, Vincenzo Villanacci, and Alberto Lanzini.The team set out to compare duodenal hydrophobicity as an index of mucus barrier integrity in 38 patients studied before and 68 patients during gluten-free diet, and in 90 control subjects. They also checked for regional differences of hydrophobicity in the gastro-intestinal tract.
The team gauged hydrophobicity by measuring the contact angle (CA) (Rame Hart 100/10 goniometer) created by a single drop of water applied to intestinal mucosal biopsies.
Once the team pooled the results and evaluated the control groups, patients with histologically normal duodenal biopsies showed significantly higher CA (620 + 90) than patients with biopsies showing Marsh 1-2 (580 + 100; p<0.02) and Marsh 3 lesions (570+ 100; p<0.02).
Among the control group, the action sequence of hydrofobicity along the gastrointestinal tract follows the pattern: gastric antrum> corpus> rectum> duodenum> oesophagus> ileum.
From these results, the team concludes that people with celiac disease experience reduced hydrophobicity of duodenal mucous layer, and a reduced ability to repel Luminal contents. This may may contribute to the increased intestinal permeability seen in celiac disease.
This change in hydrofobicity corresponds to the severity of the mucosal lesions in the patient, and is not completely reversed by gluten-free diet.
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9 Responses to "Bio-physical Characteristics of Gastrointestinal Mucosa of Celiac Patients: Comparison with Control Subjects and Effect of Gluten-Free Diet"
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28 Nov 2011 7:31:59 AM PDT It would be helpful for this article to be written in layman's terms. I doubt that most readers will understand its point.
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15 Jan 2012 8:34:34 AM PDT I agree. What the heck is it telling us?
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28 Nov 2011 9:13:56 PM PDT I get it, but what do I do about it?
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05 Dec 2011 6:11:21 AM PDT My sentiments exactly!!! What are we to do about permeability and malabsorption issues???
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05 Dec 2011 6:57:24 AM PDT I agree. Layman's terms. Had to look up a number of words.....takes a great deal of time in this busy world.
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06 Dec 2011 4:17:37 PM PDT We do our best to update our glossary...note that you can click on many of the terms to get a definition.
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05 Dec 2011 10:47:31 AM PDT For celiacs gluten can irreversibly damage the intestinal lining, so that its contents "leak" into the rest of the body, a set-up for eventual major disease. At the moment, eating fresh food only and keeping one's environment gluten-free, are one's best defense.
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05 Dec 2011 1:33:21 PM PDT I totally agree with Dot. I get it because I live with it, but how do I get rid of it?
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05 Dec 2011 10:45:28 PM PDT I understand that they are saying that we who are gluten-intolerant are not able to form a protective layer to keep the contents of our intestines inside (so some leaks out into the bloodstream). What do they mean, however, by that not being resolved by a gluten-free diet? Never? Do we always have a leaky gut? (I have heard that another gut gate-keeper that allows permeability, called Zonulin, also remains elevated in celiac disease--sounds like we're doomed!)
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