Celiac Gene Testing

[will'smom]

Hi,

Has anyone had gene testing (blood sample). I think its HLA DQ2 and DQ8...? Is that accurate...I assume so? Has any celiac has this done and shown postive...and has any celiac had it done and shown negative? Thanks

Julie

[gf4life]

My kids and I had gene testing done, but we did cheek swabs, not blood. DQ2 and DQ8 are the two main genes related to Celiac Disease. Having the genes does not mean you will get the disease, but you do have the chance of getting it. Also if you have the genes and have symptoms then you most likely have an active case of the disease. Also you might not have the gene's but you might still be gluten intolerant. Not all labs check for the gluten intolarance genes, only the Celiac genes.

The four of us were tested and two of us have one DQ2 gene, the other two are non-celiac gluten intolerant . Here is how the results break down for us:

Myself: HLA-DQ2 (subtype 2) and HLA-DQ3 (subtype 7)

My daughter: HLA-DQ2 (subtype 2) and HLA-DQ3 (subtype 7)

My older son: 2 copies of HLA-DQ3 (subtype 7) ;that predisposes to gluten sensitivity

My younger son: HLA-DQ1(subtype 5) and HLA-DQ3 (subtype 7);this genotype also can predispose to microscopic colitis and other autoimmune syndromes. This son has the most health problems and had the most intestinal damage. His pediatric Rheumatologist/Immunologist doctor says he is not willing to rule out Celiac since there has not been enough research done on the disease and they are not sure they have isolated all of the genes responsible fo the disease. He has improved so much on the gluten and dairy free diet and has grown more in 3 months than he had in the past year!

I hope this helps and if you have a more specific question about the tests. Feel free to ask.

God bless,

Mariann