Celiac Disease Research Projects, Fundraising, Epidemiology, Etc.

Image: CC--Jason Taellious

Adults who have gluten sensitivities cohabitating with non-gluten sensitive adults may have a lot of unanswered questions that need to be asked. Dramatic changes in one family member's diet can have profound effects on a household (Bacigalupe & Plocha, 2015). Numerous studies document how parents and children handle everyday living when the child has food intolerances, but very few studies focus on adults living with food sensitivities. Wouldn't you like to know how other adults with food sensitivities adapt and manage over the long haul?

Photo: CC--Emran Kassim

Researchers at Hiroshima University say they have perfected the science behind a new bread-baking recipe. Developed by Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, NARO, the method uses rice-flour to produce gluten-free bread with a similar consistency and volume to traditional wheat-flour loaves.

Now, rice-flour based gluten-free breads are old hat, but they've long had a reputation for being dry, crumbly, soulless creations that pale in comparison to even the cheapest traditional breads.

Photo: Andres Rueda

Massachusetts biotech firm ImmusanT has announced the successful completion of its first phase 1b trial of Nexvax2, an immunotherapy drug designed to protect celiac sufferers from the adverse effects of gluten exposure, including gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating.

Nexvax2 is a drug that relies on three peptides designed to promote T cells involved in the inflammatory reaction in celiac disease to become tolerant to gluten.

The company hopes that an initial course will promote gluten-tolerance, which can then be maintained by periodic boosters of the vaccine.

Celiac disease is on the rise in Italy. Photo: CC--David Evers

More Italians are being diagnosed with celiac disease than ever before.

According to the Report to the Parliament from the Ministry of Health, 182,858 Italians were diagnosed with celiac disease, compared with less than 172,000 in 2014; an increase of about 6%.

Photo: CC-- Gordon

Researchers really do not have really good data on rates of celiac disease in the general population of children in the United States. A team of researchers recently set out to estimate the cumulative incidence of celiac disease in adolescents born in the Denver metropolitan area. Their team collected data on HLA-DR, DQ genotypes of 31,766 infants, born from 1993 through 2004 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver, from the Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young.

Photo: CC--Art Around

A team of researchers recently set out to determine whether there might exist ethnic differences in celiac disease autoimmunity in children at 6 years of age, and if present, to assess how these differences may be explained by known sociodemographic and environmental factors.

Photo: CC--Kathy & Sam

PvP Biologics, a business spun out of the University of Washington, now has a $35 million deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical to develop its therapy for celiac disease. PvP Biologics is developing an enzyme that can be taken orally and survive in the harsh acidic environment of the stomach. That enzyme is called KumaMax.

Photo: CC--Peter

Researchers are seeing less hidden celiac disease, but more cases of people going gluten-free without diagnosis.

Image: CC--Nelson L

Danish researchers use duodenal biopsies, celiac disease-specific antibodies, and human leukocyte-antigen genotypes to validate celiac disease diagnoses in the Danish National Patient Register.

Can body metrics and rate data help us better understand adolescents with celiac disease? Photo: CC--Wellness GM

A team of researchers recently set out to investigate the impact of celiac disease diagnosis on anthropometric measures at late adolescence, and to assess trends in the prevalence of diagnosed celiac disease over time.

A new study looks at celiac disease rates and gluten-free food consumption. Image: CC--Scott Maxwell

Previous studies have indicated an increase in celiac disease rates in the United States, but these studies have been done on narrow populations, and did not produce results that are nationally representative.

Photo: CC--SuSanA Secretariat

What a gross title–it bothers me and I wrote it! It wasn't my idea originally. The research paper the data came from was entitled, "Experimental hookworm infection and gluten microchallenge promote tolerance in celiac disease" published recently in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Man demonstrates Bhangra, a traditional dance from the Punjab region of India. Photo: CC--Timothy J.

Among patients diagnosed with celiac disease by small intestinal biopsy in the U.S., people from the Punjab region of India have the highest rates of disease, according to new research published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

The Celiac Disease Foundation has received an award to promote patient researcher interaction. Photo: CC--Military Health

The Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF) has received an award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).

Girl Scouts will include some gluten-free versions for the 2016 cookie season. Photo: CC--Marit & Toomas Hinosaar

Good news, gluten-free cookie lovers! Girls Scouts will feature several gluten-free versions of their famous cookies for the 2016 season.

Photo: CC--Moyan Brenn

The number of children with gluten intolerance in one part of Scotland has more than doubled in just five years, according to a new survey.

Photo: CC--GotCredit

The celiac disease EpiCast Report provides an overview of the risk factors, co-morbidities, and the global and historical trends for celiac disease in the six major markets (6MM) (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and UK) to 2023.

Photo: CC--Zherun

For each the past three years, the FDA has sponsored a public workshop focusing on end points and clinical outcomes for drug development in GI diseases. The program is known as the Gastroenterology Regulatory Endpoints and the Advancement of Therapeutics, or by the acronym: GREAT.

Gaza by MP5. Image CC--MP Cinque

In Gaza, simple access to gluten-free flour can mean the difference between living and dying for celiac sufferers. One Palestinian chemist is working to provide their lifeline.

Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo: CC-- Thomas Rousing

How common is under-diagnosis of celiac disease? A team of researchers recently set out to answer that question by conducting a population-based study of Danish adults.