Celiac Disease & Gluten Intolerance Research

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Intestinal absorption capacity is currently regarded as the best way to assess overall digestive intestinal function. Earlier reference values for intestinal function in healthy Dutch adults were based on a study that was conducted in an inpatient metabolic unit setting in a relatively small series.

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Previous studies have shown an immunologic response primarily directed against transglutaminase (TG)6 in patients with gluten ataxia (GA). A team of researchers set out to see if Transglutaminase 6 antibodies could be helpful in the diagnosis of gluten ataxia.

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A team of researchers recently set out to test determine if an interactive online intervention might help to improve gluten free diet adherence in adults with celiac disease.

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A team of researchers recently set out to determine how microbial fermentation with lactic acid bacteria might be used to make better gluten-free products.

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A team of researchers recently set out to determine whether IEL parameters have any connection with mortality and morbidity in cases of refractory celiac disease.

In this photo, hepatitis B attacks cells. Photo: CC--ajc1

A team of researchers recently took a look at how well the hepatitis B vaccine protected people with celiac disease over time, and how well they responded to a vaccine booster.

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There haven't been many studies that evaluate the usefulness of capsule endoscopy in equivocal celiac disease. A team of researchers recently set out to conduct an evaluation of capsule endoscopy in adult celiac disease...

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More and more, research is showing that celiac disease may have a variety of different clinical presentations. A team of researchers recently used data from Italy, Romania and Iran to explore rates of gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with celiac disease.

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Enterocyte damage is one of the common features of celiac disease, and often results in malabsorption. Presently, doctors don't know very much about the recovery of enterocyte damage and its clinical consequences. Serum intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) is a marker that allows researchers to study enterocyte damage.

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People with celiac disease all have some degree of damage to the small intestinal mucosa, ranging from lymphocytic duodenosis with normal villous structure to severe villous atrophy.

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To determine if the probiotic Bifidobacterium natren life start (NLS) strain might affect the treatment and clinical features of patients with untreated celiac disease, a team of researchers recently conducted an exploratory, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the effects of Bifidobacterium infantis natren life start super strain in active celiac disease.

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People with celiac disease must follow a gluten-free diet if they want to remain healthy, but a 200-patient study conducted by Alvine Pharmaceuticals show that 90 percent of celiac patients who followed a gluten-free diet still reported symptoms of the disease.

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Scientific evidence indicates that the risk of developing celiac disease cannot be explained solely by genetic factors. There is some evidence to support the idea that the season in which a child is born can influence the risk for developing celiac disease.

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A synthetic stool substitute was recently used as part of a "proof-of-principle" study to successfully clear C. difficile infections in 2 patients via fecal transplant therapy.  A synthetic stool may lead the way to "off-the-shelf" fecal transplant therapy eliminating the need for individual healthy feces donors and screening tests.  An "off-the-shelf" synthetic stool would greatly facilitate large scale fecal transplant therapy studies and clinical trials.  Fecal transplant therapy for celiac disease could readily be investigated.

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To better understand the relationship between mucosal healing and mortality in celiac disease, a research team set out to determine whether persistent villous atrophy is associated with mortality in celiac disease patients.

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Ever wonder what happens to all those celiac disease patients who volunteer to do a gluten-challenge in the name of science? Well, the short answer is that they likely suffer, and may incur gut damage, at least in the short term.

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Currently, doctors diagnose celiac disease with blood tests that screen for two antibodies, one that targets gluten and another that goes after an intestinal protein. The tests work pretty well to spot advanced cases of celiac disease, but by that time, patients are already suffering intestinal damage.

CC--Mervi Eskelanin

Up-regulation of T-bet and phosphorylated signal transducers and activators of transcription (pSTAT)1 are key transcription factors for the development of T helper type 1 (Th1) cells, and have been found in the mucosa of patients with untreated celiac disease.

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Sweden has seen a sharp rise in cases of celiac disease in children under two years of age. A research team recently studied the possible connection between early infections and celiac disease, along with their possible role in the explosion of celiac cases in Swedish children.

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Currently, doctors must still use invasive techniques to distinguish between uncomplicated and complicated forms of celiac disease.