Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Where Your Contribution Counts!
    eNewsletter
    Support Us!
  • Record is Archived

    This article is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Jefferson Adams
    Jefferson Adams

    Study Shows Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac Disease Clinically Different

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    Celiac.com 03/30/2011 - A team of medical researchers set out to compare gut permeability and mucosal immune gene expression in celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

    The research team included Anna Sapone, Karen M Lammers, Vincenzo Casolaro, Marcella Cammarota, Maria T Giuliano, Mario De Rosa, Rosita Stefanile, Giuseppe Mazzarella, Carlo Tolone, Maria I Russo, Pasquale Esposito, Franca Ferraraccio, Maria Carteni, Gabriele Riegler, Laura de Magistris  and Alessio Fasano.

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    People with celiac disease suffer an adverse autoimmune reaction when they consume gluten. People with gluten-sensitivity cannot tolerate gluten and may develop gastrointestinal symptoms similar to those in celiac disease.

    However, for people with gluten intolerance, the overall clinical picture is usually less severe, and is not accompanied by the concurrence of tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies or autoimmune comorbidities.

    By examining and comparing mucosal expression of genes associated with intestinal barrier function, along with innate and adaptive immunity the team sought to better understand the similarities and differences between celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

    For their study, the team enrolled a group of subjects with celiac disease, a group with gluten sensitivity, and a control group of healthy, gluten-tolerant individuals.

    They assessed intestinal permeability using a lactulose and mannitol probe, and collected mucosal biopsy specimens to study the expression of genes involved in barrier function and immunity.

    They found that gluten sensitivity, unlike celiac disease, is not associated with increased intestinal permeability.

    In fact, subjects with gluten sensitivity showed significantly reduced intestinal permeability compared with controls (P = 0.0308). This was accompanied with significantly increased expression of claudin (CLDN) 4 (P = 0.0286).

    Relative to controls, subjects with celiac disease expressed higher levels of adaptive immunity markers interleukin (IL)-6 (P = 0.0124) and IL-21 (P = 0.0572), while those with gluten sensitivity showed no higher levels.

    Subjects with gluten intolerance showed increased expression of the innate immunity marker Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, but subjects with celiac disease showed no such increase (P = 0.0295).

    Finally, subjects with gluten intolerance showed significantly reduced expression of the T-regulatory cell marker FOXP3 relative to controls (P = 0.0325) and celiac subjects (P = 0.0293).

    This study supports the existence of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease as two clinically different gluten-associated disorders.

    The study also supports the characterization of gluten sensitivity as a condition associated with prevalent gluten-induced activation of innate, rather than adaptive, immune responses in the absence of detectable changes in mucosal barrier function.

    Source:

    • Open Original Shared Link


    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments



    Guest Jay K.

    Posted

    Interesting study that proves that there truly is a difference between gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Susan Lederer

    Posted

    Not enough details but a worthwhile study.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Ellen

    Posted

    Interesting study that proves that there truly is a difference between gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.

    My take away is that both gluten sensitivity and gluten intolerance are mediated by the immune system--just different expressions of the same problem, an immune response to gluten. Are they mediated by the same genetic basis?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Sarah

    Posted

    I do hope this stops those from gluten sensitivity from calling themselves celiacs. As a celiac, it's rather frustrating. These are seemingly 2 different conditions, and there is no benefit to either group by gluten intolerant people considering themselves celiac. You are not celiac. As a celiac, a crumb of gluten will destroy my intestines. This does not happen in gluten intolerance. Now hopefully we can find a way to prevent and cure these conditions (the gluten-free diet is not a cure, it is a treatment, just as insulin does not cure diabetes or nor does an epi pen cure allergies).

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Clarkie

    Posted

    This article left me wondering whether this means that people who test positive for antibodies to tissue transglutaminase (is that the common blood test for celiac?) have celiac versus a sensitivity. I got the gene test and an antibody test. The gene test showed that I have a pair of genes more commonly associated with gluten sensitivity but my antibody reaction was significant. I've always wondered whether I have celiac or just sensitivity. I suspect that I've got a very permeable gut too as I'm allergic to everything, not just gluten. The permeability could be due to something else though--candida for instance (which is also one of my challenges). Thanks for all the great info. Your articles give me hope for myself and especially for my six year old boy who also has it.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Ann C.

    Posted

    While I agree somewhat overall with the team's finding, I also have some major issues with this report:

     

    I have gluten intolerance, and I also have tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies or autoimmune comorbidities. That is, I have low threshold markers of all of the same lab markers that are noted for Celiac disease, just that none of mine put me over the edge of having Celiac disease. The biopsy I had done also showed no Celiac disease, and I had the genetics test taken that showed no propensity for having the Celiac markers. But stating that those with gluten intolerance do not have any of the same lab markers that those with Celiacs do is simply false, as I and my blood work can attest to.

     

    “They found that gluten sensitivity, unlike celiac disease, is not associated with increased intestinal permeability.†This is ONLY true if the only issue you have wrong with your body is gluten intolerance. I also had soy intolerance and a casein allergy when my gluten intolerance was diagnosed, along with a multitude of other intolerances to different foods. I ALSO had severe malabsorption and Leaky Gut, meaning that I had (maybe still have?) very increased intestinal permeability.

     

    Our local gluten intolerance/Celiac group had a researcher from the Celiac research department at the Univ of Chicago come and speak to our group. When I talked to her and mentioned the fact that along with my gluten intolerance not only did I have soy intolerance and casein allergy, but I also had a wide variety of other food intolerances, this researcher then went on to tell me that she does not believe it is possible for a person to have multiple food intolerances and/or allergies to different areas that are not connected or are so very different from each other. And all I could think of was—huh? I and my family are living with multiple food intolerances (we all have gluten intolerance) and all this researcher can say is that she doesn't believe in it? She's not interested in researching to discover WHY our bodies react differently than that of a Celiacs?

     

    Both gluten intolerance and Celiac disease are, at the moment, able to be tolerated with a gluten free diet. As someone else mentioned, it isn't a cure but rather a treatment. Until the real cause of both Celiac and Gluten Intolerance is found, a gluten free diet is the only way to manage symptoms and to prevent more from occurring. I am glad that, finally, scientists/the medical community have discovered that Celiac disease and Gluten Intolerance are two totally different dis-eases with different pathologies. Maybe now we'll finally get someone who is interested in helping those of use with gluten intolerance as well. Although I tend to doubt it, because while ours makes us sick (with a lot of the same issues and problems as Celiac disease), ours doesn't compromise our autoimmune system/give us autoimmune disorders and therefore, we aren't candidates for “drugs.†Well, at least at the moment. Maybe they'll discover after all that they can find a drug to help “cure†us. I suspect, though, that the only cure will be to get rid of wheat/rye/barley from the diet, quit playing around with the germoplasma, and quit playing God with GMOs, chemicals, pesticides, and anything else manmade and not natural. It will be interesting to see what comes about from this study.

     

    Oh! Two things I wanted to mention. 1) While many Celiacs discover they have lactose intolerance, I have been finding out that many people I know who have Gluten Intolerance have either a casein or a whey allergy, along with numerous intolerances to other foods. 2) I also tested positive for severe heavy metal toxicity when I discovered I had gluten intolerance (mine is to the gliadin protein, not the gluten). My question was: why was it so extremely high? I read about the P450 cytochrome--specifically the CYP2C9 gene—and how if you have mutations in this specific cytochrome/gene, your body can't detoxify and metabolize correctly. I was tested, and I have no active alleles and three mutations—meaning my body is unable to detoxify and metabolize at all without help (which I give it with organic food and various supplements, both to support my health/body and to help it detoxify). Once I told my Naturopathic doctor about this specific genetic liver mutation, he told me he'd had 3 more patients after me who had the same liver mutation AND also had gluten/gliadin intolerance.

     

    Perhaps a researcher should look more closely into that.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Kristin

    Posted

    Great article. It affirms that gluten sensitivity is a real issue. So often I get "oh so your celiac"...well not I'm not, but....This also is more evidence to the doctors (like my first doctor) that it there is validity to what my body is doing!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Tonya

    Posted

    What about people who test positive for gluten sensitivity but also have a positive test for and autoimmune reaction to gluten but do not have celiac? Are they celiac, gluten sensitive or something else entirely?

     

    Also, in response to Sarah, what does it matter to you what they call themselves? A crumb of gluten may not be destroying my intestines, but that small crumb gives me all kinds of other symptoms, pain, ataxia, dizziness, vomiting, bloating, and anxiety for an entire week not to mention the gastrointestinal symptoms that occur within twenty minutes of exposure.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Lisa

    Posted

    What about people who test positive for gluten sensitivity but also have a positive test for and autoimmune reaction to gluten but do not have celiac? Are they celiac, gluten sensitive or something else entirely?

     

    Also, in response to Sarah, what does it matter to you what they call themselves? A crumb of gluten may not be destroying my intestines, but that small crumb gives me all kinds of other symptoms, pain, ataxia, dizziness, vomiting, bloating, and anxiety for an entire week not to mention the gastrointestinal symptoms that occur within twenty minutes of exposure.

    Exactly, I have the same problems. Although I had gone on a gluten-free diet per my doctor when I was diagnosed as gluten intolerant, and have been so for 2 years now. I do not know if I am celiac or not, and am unwilling to eat gluten again. All I know is that I cannot tolerate even a crumb of gluten or food with gluten containing substance in it at all.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Cheryl Keeney

    Posted

    I had both my daughter and I tested for celiac and was told we didn't have it. I had osteoporosis at age 32, IBS, thyroid nodules, autoimmune skin disease and arthritis, and my daughter was born with a Learning Disorder..we've both been dx'd with low vitamin D. I cannot tolerate soy I just found out and I have to take multiple vitamins to treat my symptoms. I am very short, have very short fingers and toes compared to everyone else. I just feel that they are missing something in the diagnosis of gluten disorders. I am way too sick to say there is no damage. And I could not work nor could I get disability since the doctors said nothing is wrong with me.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Gerard

    Posted

    I do hope this stops those from gluten sensitivity from calling themselves celiacs. As a celiac, it's rather frustrating. These are seemingly 2 different conditions, and there is no benefit to either group by gluten intolerant people considering themselves celiac. You are not celiac. As a celiac, a crumb of gluten will destroy my intestines. This does not happen in gluten intolerance. Now hopefully we can find a way to prevent and cure these conditions (the gluten-free diet is not a cure, it is a treatment, just as insulin does not cure diabetes or nor does an epi pen cure allergies).

    A rather strange take from someone who has a condition similar to my own yet implies that NCGS is not worth comment, Being frustrated at this would seem to imply a particular mindset that is not helpful.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Melinda

    Posted

    I do hope this stops those from gluten sensitivity from calling themselves celiacs. As a celiac, it's rather frustrating. These are seemingly 2 different conditions, and there is no benefit to either group by gluten intolerant people considering themselves celiac. You are not celiac. As a celiac, a crumb of gluten will destroy my intestines. This does not happen in gluten intolerance. Now hopefully we can find a way to prevent and cure these conditions (the gluten-free diet is not a cure, it is a treatment, just as insulin does not cure diabetes or nor does an epi pen cure allergies).

    I understand. My son has severe milk allergies and people are constantly calling him lactose intolerant. I'm like, 'No, he is allergic. He can die from it."

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Guest
    This is now closed for further comments

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate
  • About Me

    Jefferson Adams

    Jefferson Adams is Celiac.com's senior writer and Digital Content Director. He earned his B.A. and M.F.A. at Arizona State University. His articles, essays, poems, stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and websites, including North American Project, Antioch Review, Caliban, Mississippi Review, Slate, and more. He is the author of more than 2,500 articles on celiac disease. His university coursework includes studies in science, scientific methodology, biology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, logic, and advanced research. He previously devised health and medical content for Colgate, Dove, Pfizer, Sharecare, Walgreens, and more. Jefferson has spoken about celiac disease to the media, including an appearance on the KQED radio show Forum, and is the editor of numerous books, including "Cereal Killers" by Scott Adams and Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

    >VIEW ALL ARTICLES BY JEFFERSON ADAMS

     


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Related Articles

    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 10/26/2010 - A recent study shows that, since 1974, the rate of celiac disease has doubled every fifteen years, and that celiac rates increase as people grow older, with many developing the disease in their 50s or 60s.
    The Center for Celiac Research led the study, which looked at 3,511 volunteers who submitted blood samples in 1974 and 1989, along with updates every two to three years until 2007.
    Because researchers in the study surveyed the same people over time, says Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Dr. Joseph Murray, the study adds weight to the concept that celiac disease can emerge at any age.
    The study results also echo those of a 2008 Finnish study that found that elderly people had rates of celiac disease nearly two and a half times higher than the general population...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 02/14/2011 - In what may seem for some like an obvious finding, a team of Australian researchers has shown that people can suffer gluten intolerance without having celiac disease. Their study is published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
    I say obvious, because many in the celiac and surrounding community have long understood and accepted the concept of gluten-intolerance as distinct from celiac disease. Surprisingly, there has been very little scientific research to establish the existence of gluten-intolerance as distinct from celiac disease. That is changing, and the recent Australian study offers some support for gluten-intolerance as distinct from celiac disease.
    For their study, a team of researchers led by Peter Gibson, professor of medicine at Eastern...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 08/01/2011 - 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.
    However, even with improved evaluation methods, clinicians may often face variable histological and clinical presentations of celiac disease, and they may be confused by diagnostic models in the current guidelines.
    A team of researchers recently set out to reassess sub-clinical celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. The study team included Mohammad Rostami Nejad, Sabine Hogg- Kollars, Sauid Ishaq, Kamran Rostami
    They are affiliated variously with the Research Institute for Gastroenterology and...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 12/03/2012 - Gluten sensitivity has recently been added to the spectrum of gluten-related disorders, but precise diagnostic markers do not yet exist. A research team recently set out to understand the blood test pattern of gluten sensitivity, and to compare it with the blood test pattern seen in celiac disease.
    The researchers included U. Volta, F. Tovoli, R. Cicola, C. Parisi, A. Fabbri, M. Piscaglia, E. Fiorini, G. Caio, of the Department of Clinical Medicine at University of Bologna's St. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna, Italy.
    For their study, the researchers looked at blood samples from 78 patients with gluten-sensitivity and 80 patients with celiac disease. They assessed levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)G/IgA antigliadin antibodies (AGA), IgG deamidated gliadin...


  • Recent Activity

    1. - trents replied to JustGemi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      7

      SCARED: What Do These Test Results Mean?

    2. - Scott Adams replied to Kaylee G's topic in Gluten-Free Recipes & Cooking Tips
      1

      Learning to cook for myself

    3. - JustGemi replied to JustGemi's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      7

      SCARED: What Do These Test Results Mean?

    4. - Scott Adams replied to Raquel2021's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      1

      Went to see a gastroenterologist today and

    5. - Scott Adams replied to RILEYW's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      11

      I don’t have a diagnosis but I’m pretty positive I have celiac and have ongoing GI Problems


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,473
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Jessiehags91
    Newest Member
    Jessiehags91
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Popular Now

    • JustGemi
    • Linedancegal
    • Hannah24
      9
    • jessiemariecar
    • Rhonda H
  • Popular Articles

    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
  • Upcoming Events

×
×
  • Create New...