Not all gluten is equally offensive to celiacs, and some may be both well tolerated and useful for making better bread...

Currently, one of the more promising areas of celiac disease research looks to be in peptide-based therapies. One of the keys to creating an effective peptide-based therapy for celiac disease lies in identifying the gluten peptides that trigger intestinal T cell responses when people with celiac disease consume wheat, rye, or barley. A team of Italian researchers recently set out to do just that.

Historically, celiac disease has been only rarely reported in Asia. Due to the absence of reports, and since Asian diets are traditionally low in wheat, barley or rye, it has been taken as a given that Asian populations don't really suffer from celiac disease. Still, there have been no comprehensive studies undertaken to verify this notion.

Recently, a team of Mayo Clinic researchers conducted an assessment of the long-term outcome of undiagnosed celiac disease and found that undiagnosed celiacs have a 400% higher risk of death than seronegative subjects ("non-celiacs").

A team of Finnish researchers is calling for a change in the criteria for diagnosing celiac disease, based on their findings that gluten intolerant patients who do not have clinical celiac disease get similar benefits from a gluten-free diet, and respond to the diet about as well as patients who do have clinical celiac disease.

A team of Spanish researchers recently set out to determine rates and clinical status of gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE) detected by mass blood screens. The researchers also sought to determine sensitivity of anti-transglutaminase (tTGA) and anti-endomysium antibodies (EmA) in diagnosis, and compliance with a gluten-free diet (GFD) and follow-up.

According to the latest findings by a Norwegian research team, the inner workings of a particular enzymatic reaction is helping scientists figure out how celiac disease develops.

A study published in Journal of Insurance Medicine has delineated clear economic benefits to diagnosing celiac disease on a national level using a managed-care approach.

In April, Bob Anderson, of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical research in Melbourne, will begin the initial phase of the first-ever trials for a celiac vaccine that, if successful, might just mean the end of gluten-free diets for those with celiac disease.

A recent study finds rates of celiac disease in Polish children are four times higher than estimated. Moreover, they found that symptoms in those diagnosed were typically absent, minimal or vague.