Image: CC--Jonathan Silverberg

Dr. Alessio Fasano from the University of Maryland's Celiac Research Center published a paper in Clinical and Developmental Immunology last month. It focused on a new drug developed by Dr. Fasano that has shown promising results in both animal and human trials. But is this the 'magic pill' that will cure celiac disease and gluten sensitivity? Let's take a look.

Why were bananas once regarded as a cure for celiac disease? Image: CC--jster

Once upon a time, bananas were thought by many doctors to possess tremendous healing properties. Bananas were used to help diabetics to use weight. Doctors told mothers to feed bananas to their infants starting at 4 weeks. And for a long time, the diet seemed to help people "recover" from celiac disease.

Invented by Dr. Sidney Haas in 1924, the high-calorie, banana-based diet excluded starches, but included bananas, milk, cottage cheese, meat and vegetables.

GliadinX is a dietary supplement with the highest concentration of AN-PEP, Prolyl Endopeptidase (Aspergillus Niger), the most effective enzyme proven to break down gluten in the stomach. This high potency enzyme formulation is specifically designed to break down gliadin, and unlike other enzyme formulas that claim to do the same, there is a growing body of research that backs up the effectiveness of GliadinX.

If you avoid gluten, take about 3 minutes and test your food with Nima and eat with confidence! You can also sync, share and discover other test results with the Nima app.

Enjoy 20% off a Nima Starter Kit with code Celiacdotcom20 at check out for celiac.com customers only (good through July 2, 2017).

Is Treg cell dysfunction a key factor in celiac disease development? Photo: Zappys Technology Solutions

Circulating gluten-specific FOXP3+CD39+ regulatory T cells have impaired suppressive function in patients with celiac disease. What does that mean?

Although researchers understand the effector T-cell response in patients with celiac disease pretty well, they really don’t know very much about the role played by regulatory T cells (Treg cells) in the loss of tolerance to gluten. To get a better picture, a team of researchers recently set out to define whether patients with celiac disease have a dysfunction or lack of gluten-specific forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3)+ Treg cells.

Chicken comes together with mushrooms and artichokes in this easy gluten-free recipe. Photo: CC--Justin Smith

Anyone looking for a quick, and tasty dinner entree will likely love this recipe. Just grab some chicken breast halves, some fresh mushrooms, a can of artichokes, and a few other ingredients, and bang, you have the makings of a solid gluten-free meal. Chicken comes together with mushrooms and artichokes in this easy gluten-free recipe.

Photo: CC--Paul VanDerWerf

Adults with celiac disease often show atypical symptoms, though it is not uncommon for them to suffer from malabsorption of vitamins and minerals, which can result in disrupt normal bone metabolism.

A team of researchers recently set out to evaluate laboratory deficiencies related to bone metabolism, and to assess the relationship between severity of histological damage and the degree of bone mass loss at celiac diagnosis. The research team included L. Posthumus, and A. Al-Toma A of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.

Image: CC--Ged Carroll

Hello, my name is Gerry. I am a certified Medical Technologist currently working as a Clinical Systems Analyst. I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2006 by blood/biopsy. I have two wonderful children, 1 of whom has screened positive for a celiac gene pair. My strong background in Medical Technology assured a quick diagnosis once symptoms appeared. Since then, I have been living a strict gluten-free life.

Photo: CC--Walter Lim

One nice thing about spring is that one day you can be cooking outside, and the next, it's cold again. It was snowing in Denver recently, so I figure an easy, tasty slow-cook dish is still good to have on hand.

I like to serve this garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Just grab some apple sauce as a garnish, and you are good to go. Slow-cook pork shoulder with sauerkraut makes a tasty, easy gluten-free meal.

Researchers make progress on mapping genetic mutations in EATL? Photo: CC--Ludwig Poggemann

Enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma (EATL) subtypes are characterized by loss of function of SETD2. Although EATL is rare condition, it is deadly. It is also the most common neoplastic complication of celiac disease.

A team of researchers recently conducted whole-exome sequencing of 69 EATL tumors, which helped them to define the genetic landscape of EATL. They found that SETD2 was silenced in 32% of EATL patients, making it the most frequently silenced gene in EATL.

In patients with both celiac disease and oesophageal eosinophilia, what should doctors do? Photo: CC--Vernor Panton

Some data have suggested a connection between celiac disease and eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE)/oesophageal eosinophilia (EE). Any potential relationship has implications for treatment. Should the two conditions be treated together, or separately?

To better understand any possible connection, and the implications for treatment, a team of researchers recently set out to characterize children with celiac disease+EE in-depth and assess the contribution of each condition to the clinical presentation and treatment response.

Are consumers being misled by gluten-free foods? Photo: CC--Elaine with Grey Cats

Are consumers wrongly assuming gluten-free foods to be nutritionally equivalent to their gluten-containing counterparts? Are they being mislead?

That's the subject of a recent talk presented at the 50th Annual Congress of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). Among the evidence cited was that gluten-free items have a significantly higher energy content and a different nutritional composition to their gluten-containing counterparts.

Photo: CC--Affen Ajlfe

Previously, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in de novo celiac disease patients has signaled an imbalance in the excitability of cortical facilitatory and inhibitory circuits.

Researchers have reported that, after about of 16 months on a gluten-free diet, patients experience a global increase of cortical excitability, which suggests some kind of compensation for disease progression, likely mediated by glutamate.

Garlic and black pepper add great flavor to grilled prawns. Photo: CC-- Whologwhy

Grilling season is nearly upon us once again, and once again, the call of cooking outside begins to beckon.

While there's no dearth of good things to throw on the grill, this recipe for grilled garlic prawns with black pepper is a great place to start. Garlic and black pepper add great flavor to grilled prawns.

Image: CC--me5otron

More and more people are avoiding gluten these days, even folks who do not have a medical reason to do so.

Perhaps looking to take advantage of the popularity of gluten-free dieting, or perhaps hoping their targets are easily fooled, one cheeky police department in California is offer to run a gluten check on people's meth.

Image: CC--Donnie Ray Jones

After thirty three years of a self indulgent relationship with food, my life hit rock bottom and took an unexpected turn, for what momentarily seems to be the worst. As spontaneous and adventurous as I am, I decided to challenge myself and make my already horrid situation, even worse. Or, as you will come to see, surprisingly better.

Photo: CC--Saray Joy

After nearly a decade of high double-digit growth, the US market for gluten-free foods is set to level off to single digit rates in coming years, according to a study from Research and Markets.

The firm's report, titled Gluten-Free Foods in the U.S., 5th Edition, looks at sales of gluten-free food across nine product categories, specifically traditional grain-based salty snacks and crackers, bread, pasta, cereal, making mix, cookies, flour and frozen dough.

Are the Canadians pushing back against EU standards for gluten-free beer? Photo: CC--Estrella Damm

Word from the Great White north is that the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) is preventing the sale of Estrella Damm Daura, following a warning from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The SLGA, according to the company's website, is "a Treasury Board Crown Corporation responsible for the distribution, control and regulation of beverage alcohol in Saskatchewan. SLGA operates 75 retail liquor stores and there are approximately 600 private liquor retailers throughout the province."

Photo: CC--Crobj

Doctors diagnose celiac disease by confirming various clinical, genetic, serologic, and duodenal morphology features. Based on retrospective data, recent pediatric guidelines propose eliminating biopsy for patients with IgA-TTG levels more than 10-times the upper limit of normal (ULN), along with a few other criteria.

One retrospective study showed that researchers using levels of IgA-TTG and total IgA, or IgA-TTG and IgG against deamidated gliadin (IgG-DGL) could identify patients both with and without celiac disease. A team of researchers recently set out to validate the positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) of these diagnostic procedures.

Dutch actress Famke Janssen give up gluten after tests show intolerance to wheat. Image: CC--gage skidmore

Dutch actress Famke Janssen is perhaps best known for her roles in movies like X-Men and Taken. But now Janssen is in the news after revealing that a serious intolerance to gluten has forced her to revise her diet and to go completely gluten-free.

During an interview on U.S. cooking show The Chew, Famke, 52, says she had already taken a test for gluten antibodies, and that she "knew what the outcome was gonna be, I already knew it, so I was stuffing my face with everything that I could find that had gluten in it."