Celiac Disease & Gluten Intolerance Research

Photo: Leeds Museums Galleries, UK.

Currently, the best way to assess whether patients with celiac disease are actually maintaining a strict gluten-free diet is to have trained experts conduct a dietary interview. These interviews can vary in complexity, depending on the nature and number of the questions, and on the amount of medical expertise required to score the responses.

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Currently, testing for anti tissue-transglutaminase antibodies is the standard of celiac disease blood testing. The test has a high sensitivity in patients who are eating a diet that contains gluten, but poor sensitivity for people on a gluten-free diet. So, it's not much use for measuring gluten-free diet success in people with celiac disease.

Photo: CC-Bogdan Suditu

A research team recently conducted a dense genotyping non-HLA risk loci previously associated with immune-mediated diseases in individuals with celiac disease.

Some studies suggest that people with celiac disease may have high levels of resistance to the HBV vaccine, compared to the general population. A team of researchers recently took a look at the issue of HBV vaccine reliability in people with celiac disease.

Photo: Gene Davis -- Smithsonian Institution

Should there be mass screening for celiac disease? Currently, there is no consensus among scientists or among public policy makers in favor of mass screening for celiac disease as a public health intervention. Advocacy for mass celiac disease screening remains somewhat controversial.

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A research team recently set out to examine connections between childhood celiac disease and functional gastrointestinal disorder in children meeting Rome III criteria.

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A team of researchers recently set out to investigate structure-based selection of small molecules to alter allele-specific MHC Class II antigen presentation

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Celiac disease often results in "leaky" intestinal mucosa. This development may involve changes in hydrophobicity of the mucus surface barrier along with changes of the epithelial barrier.

PPhoto: CC - RamberMediaImages

A research team recently set out to determine whether loss of tolerance to gluten may develop at any age, to investigate possible long-term changes in celiac disease prevalence, and to better understand other celiac-related issues.

A research team recently set out to determine how vitamin D and K might influence bone mineral density and bone growth in children and adolescents with celiac disease.

A research team set out to examine the role of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor2 in gliadin-mediated toxicity in human Caco-2 intestinal cells and in gliadin-sensitive human leukocyte antigen-DQ8 transgenic mice (DQ8), along with assessing the protective activity of CLA.

Image: CC-Kalakuta Citizen

Very little study information exists concerning rates of celiac disease-predisposing, HLA-related genes in Arab populations. A research team recently investigated the distribution of HLA-DQ2 and -DQ8 genotypes in Libyan children with celiac disease, and in healthy control subjects.

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A discussion of the article "Identification of rothia bacteria as gluten-degrading natural colonizers of the upper gastro-intestinal tract," and its implications for the development of celiac disease.

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Results of various studies comparing mortality in undetected celiac disease compared with the general population have been contradictory. Some studies have suggested a fourfold increase in mortality compared with the general population, while others have found no increase at all.

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A research team recently established a convenient fluorescence-based test to measure the activity of therapeutic enzymes live and in real time in the GI tract.

A research team recently examined bacterial differences in the upper small intestine in healthy adults with untreated celiac disease, healthy adults with celiac disease treated with a gluten-free diet, and children with untreated celiac disease, and children with celiac disease treated with a gluten-free diet.

Photo: PLoS ONE

So far, scientists know of more than forty genes associated with celiac disease, but exactly how these pathways act to trigger celiac disease in genetically predisposed individuals remains a mystery.

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People who use direct-to-consumer genetic tests sold by deCODEme and 23andMe frequently receive misleading results, because these tests do not accurately predict risk factors. So say two geneticists, who conducted two studies that assessed the accuracy of test predictions relative to various known disease risks.

Over the last two decades, there has been a marked increase in the prevalence of celiac disease, especially the sub-clinical celiac disease forms and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Most people with celiac disease now present atypical or non-classical symptoms.

A British study reports that 40% of celiacs are unhappy on the gluten free diet and would welcome treatment options, but do not use alternative therapies more than the control population.