In 1994 I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which led me to create Celiac.com in 1995. I created this site for a single purpose: To help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed and living happy, healthy gluten-free lives. Celiac.com was the first site on the Internet dedicated solely to celiac disease, and since then it has become an invaluable resource to people worldwide who seek information about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. In 1998 I created The Gluten-Free Mall, Your Special Diet Superstore! which was also another Internet first—it was the first gluten-free food site to offer a shopping cart-style interface, and the ability for people to order gluten-free products manufactured by many different companies at a single Web site.
Celiac.com 11/05/2003 - A study conducted by Norwegian researchers has found that some patients with celiac disease may not be able to tolerate oats, especially those who also have Dermatitis Herpetiformis. The researchers looked at 19 adult celiac disease patients who were given 50g of uncontaminated oats per day for 12 weeks. The patients were given biopsies before and after the challenge and were scored histologically, and "levels of mRNA specific for interferon were determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis." The researchers determined that oats were well tolerated by most celiac patients, with the exception of several who reported initial abdominal discomfort and boating, and one patient who eventually developed total villous atrophy and "dramatic dermatitis during a second challenge." Further, five of the patients showed positive levels of interferon mRNA after challenge, which leads to some concern by the researchers regarding the safety of oats for those with celiac disease. Several larger studies have demonstrated that oats are well tolerated by most celiacs.