Moreover, the study results show that those with asthma are also more likely to eventually develop celiac disease. Indeed, for every 100,000 people with celiac disease, 147 will have asthma that would not have occurred in the absence of the digestive disorder.

To assess possible links between celiac disease and asthma, Dr. Jonas Ludvigsson of Orebro University Hospital and the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and colleagues compared more than 28,000 Swedes diagnosed with celiac to more than 140,000 similar people without the disease.

Ludvigsson cautions that the study merely shows an links between the two diseases, it does not establish that asthma causes celiac disease, or vice versa.

The exact nature of the association between the two diseases is unclear, but Ludvigsson told reporters that he thinks "the role of vitamin D deficiency should be stressed."

Ludwigsson points out that people with celiac are more likely to develop osteoporosis and tuberculosis, both diseases in which vitamin D plays a role. If a person with celiac also has low levels of vitamin D, this could in turn affect the immune system, which could increase the risk of developing asthma.

Another possibility, he points out, is that "asthma and celiac disease share some immunological feature. If you have it, you are at increased risk of both diseases.

Ludvigsson also addresses the fact that the study did not establish levels of compliance with a gluten-free diet among the participants with celiac disease by noting that general "dietary compliance is high in Sweden," so he believes that "patients with good adherence are at increased risk of asthma."

Source:

• Open Original Shared Link
  

Celiac.com 01/27/2011 - In response to a post on the celiac listserv stating that both a pediatrician and a dermatologist dismissed the possibility of a connection between previously diagnosed celiac disease and geographic tongue, I wrote the following:

One of several early mentions of geographic tongue (glossitis) in association with celiac disease may be found in the medical textbook "Coeliac Disease" by Cooke and Holmes, Churchill Livingstone, 1984, on pages 84 and 85 under the heading "glossitis". They say that it occurs, to a greater or lesser extent, "in a majority of celiac patients" (1). 

Another very informative article on glossitis can be found at:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc070200

In this recent article from the New England Journal of Medicine (2007)  the authors also state that the connection between celiac disease and glossitis is very common. They go on to say: "Our report should alert physicians and dental practitioners to consider celiac disease in managing cases of idiopathic atrophic glossitis." In other words, they want physicians and dentists to be aware that there may be underlying celiac disease when they encounter glossitis. This information is neither controversial nor difficult to locate. Celiac disease is not the only cause of glossitis, or geographic tongue, but it is a common and long acknowledged symptom of celiac disease, with mention of this connection in the medical literature at least as early as 1974.  
   
My own experience with glossitis is that most of my problems went away when I began a gluten-free diet. The remainder of my glossitis resolved after getting IgG food allergy testing from Immuno Labs in Ft. Lauderdale, and removing all identified allergenic foods from my diet. (I have since re-introduced some of these foods but I avoided them for about 5 years. ( 12 years later, I still have to avoid some of the foods identified by that testing.)

My questions/concerns are:

1. Is your daughter eating gluten? Is it possible that there is gluten contamination in her diet?
2. Is she eating oats? A significant portion of celiac patients do react to oats, yet oat consumption is now widely advocated. 
3. Has she had testing for common food allergies? If she is strictly gluten-free and avoiding oats, then food allergy testing may provide her with the the information she needs to eliminate this source of her discomfort.  

I am distressed that neither the pediatrician nor the dermatologist took just a few minutes to run a Medline search that would have informed them about the connection between celiac disease and glossitis and some possible treatments for her problem.  Accidental or intentional gluten consumption, oats consumption, and food allergy testing are all relatively easy for either of these physicians to address. There may, of course, be some other explanation for your daughter's affliction, but these physicians' ignorance of the connection with celiac disease and their failure to run a quick Medline search does not inspire confidence in their opinions.  You might want to pursue a third opinion on this issue, especially since the topical drug she was prescribed falls well short of solving such autoimmune/allergic problems, which almost assuredly is the underlying cause of your daughter's difficulties with her tongue.

Sources:

1. Cooke WT, Holmes GKT. Coeliac Disease. Churchill Livingstone, NY, 1984
2. Pastore L &  Lo Muzio L. Atrophic Glossitis Leading to the Diagnosis of Celiac DiseaseN Engl J Med 2007; 356:2547June 14, 2007
3. Lampert F, Harms K, Bidlingmaier F, Kiefhaber P, Meister P.Pernicious anemia with dermatologic and neurologic involvement in a 10-year-old boy. Monatsschr Kinderheilkd. 1974 May;122(5):217-20.
4. Barry RE, Baker P, Read AE.Coeliac disease. The clinical presentation. Clin Gastroenterol. 1974 Jan;3(1):55-69

Celiac.com 09/24/2010 - A team of researchers recently found that people with celiac disease, even those following a gluten-free diet, also commonly suffer from sleep disorders that are related to depression, anxiety and fatigue.

Since anxiety and depression both occur at higher rates in people with celiac disease than in the general population, the researchers were curious to see how celiac disease might affect quality of sleep.

The research team included F. Zingone, M. Siniscalchi, P. Capone, R. Tortora, P. Andreozzi, E. Capone, and C. Ciacci. They are affiliated with the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at Federico II University of Naples in Italy.

In addition to finding that sleep disorders commonly affect people with celiac disease, regardless of gluten-free status, they also found that sleep disorders are less common in celiacs who score higher on quality of life scales, while those with low quality of life scores suffer at higher rates.

For their study, the team evaluated people celiac disease at diagnosis, celiacs on a gluten-free diet at follow-up, and a group of healthy control subjects. All patients completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), SF36, Zung and Fatigue scales and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

Their results showed that people with celiac disease at diagnosis and those following a gluten-free diet showed higher PSQI scores than did healthy volunteers (P < 0.001). PSQI scores were no lower for those following a gluten-free diet than for the others with celiac disease (P = 0.245).

People with celiacs disease at diagnosis and those on a gluten-free diet scored similarly on the other tests, but differed sharply from the healthy control subjects.

Patients who had higher individual scores for overall physical and mental fitness (r = −0.327, P = 0.002, and r = −0.455, P < 0.001, respectively) had higher overall PSQI scores.

Factors influencing sleep quality were depression (r = 0.633, P < 0.001), fatigue (r = 0.377, P < 0.001), state anxiety (r = 0.484, P < 0.001) and trait anxiety (r = 0.467, P < 0.001).

So, if you or someone you love has celiac disease, be prepared to address sleep issues, and maybe consider doing everything possible to ensure a good night's rest.

Source:

• Open Original Shared Link
  

Celiac disease is an inherited, immune system disorder in which the proteins found in wheat, rye and barley cause damage to the lining of the small intestine.

Reports suggest that canker sores might be the sole symptom for about one in twenty people with celiac disease, according to Dr. Farhad Shahram, of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and colleagues.

Commonly called canker sores, aphthous stomatitis is a painful, open ulcer in the mouth that is white or yellow and surrounded by a bright red area. The sores often recur in times of stress and are associated with viral infections, food allergies and other complaints.

The research team looked at 247 people with aphthous stomatitis, who had suffered at least three aphthous lesions in the previous year. Subjects had a median age of 33 years.

The team screened blood samples for antibodies and other immune factors connected with celiac disease, and excluded patients with negative results. Subjects with positive blood tests underwent intestinal biopsy. A positive gluten-antibody blood test and abnormal biopsy results constituted gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

Of the 247 patients, seven patients showed positive blood tests and submitted for upper GI endoscopy and duodenal biopsy.

Two of the seven patients showed endoscopy results compatible with gluten-sensitive enteropathy, while five were normal. However, biopsy results for all seven showed gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

Average age for patients with gluten-sensitive enteropathy was 27 years old, and on average suffered from the disease for 4.5 years.

Interestingly, none of the seven celiac disease patients responded to conventional mouth ulcer medications, including topical corticosteroids, tetracycline, and colchicine.

Four of the seven patients with celiac disease adopted a gluten-free diet, and all four showed substantial improvement within 2 to 6 months.

As a result of the study, doctors should consider the possibility of celiac disease/gluten-sensitive enteropathy when treating patients for aphthous stomatitis patients, especially those who show a lack of response to conventional treatment, which may be another indicator of celiac disease risk.

Open Original Shared Link

Dr. Reichelt believed that metabolic disorders impair the effective breakdown of certain proteins in children and thereby cause mental problem, such as hyperactive disorders. Related international research has established links between protein disorder and the conditions of autism and schizophrenia.  A growing number of studies also hint that some cases of ADHD are tied to digestive disorders. Data from this Norwegian study supports the idea that ADHD may also arise from a digestive disorder.

This study indicates that consumption of certain foods, such as milk and gluten, may contribute to ADHD in children who lack the enzyme that breaks down proteins like casein, a component of milk--which also helps in the formation of cheese.

Interestingly, when children who lack this enzyme eat foods that require the enzyme to properly digest proteins like casein, their brains experience an opium-like effect, which might explain at least some of the spaciness and impaired attention these kids exhibit.

According to Reichalt's theory, hyperactivity can be controlled by reducing the intake of foods that require the presence of this missing enzyme to properly break down the offending proteins.

In the study, 22 of the 23 children were placed on strict milk-free and/or gluten-free diets. They were taken off milk products and other foods containing casein. All exhibited a rapid improvement in general well-being, including improved mental health and general behavior, improved attention-span and better learning abilities. After a year, 22 of the 23 families reported clear improvements in their child's behaviour and attention-span.

When the kids were taken off their diets, their symptoms returned nearly immediately. Before changing their diets, most of the children were taking medications, like Ritalin, to treat their symptoms. After their diets were established, their medications were discontinued.

By 2004, a number of the children had ceased their diets for various reasons and some have returned to medication. Still, six children remained milk-free and several had also cut out gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley and to some extent oats.

Due in part to the small sample size, and limited amounts of data from comprehensive studies on the number of ADHD children who suffer from peptide-breakdown abnormalities, the study has been met with a certain resistance among the medical community, where most doctors still believe that the evidence best supports medications like Ritalin as the best way to treat the ADHD.

Still, the results carry weight among the parents, and among the Norwegians, as hundreds of other Norwegian children with ADHD, mainly in and around Stavanger, have in recent years been put on milk-free and/or gluten-free diets to help control ADHD and related disorders.

Agence France Presse 2008.
Yahoo! News 2008

Celiac Disease

I have celiac disease. I manage it quite well through my diet.  However, if I ingest anything with gluten, for instance a wayward crouton in a restaurant salad, I have a severe reaction that starts within five minutes.  All or some of the following will occur: hives from head to toe, stomach cramps, uncontrollable diarrhea, vomiting, asthma, severe lethargy.  I fall into an uncontrollable sleep that takes about four hours to run its course.  Needless to say, I avoid gluten at all costs.

A Bit of History

Although I am a remarkable person (like all of us), my health history has been quite unremarkable.  Nothing was ever wrong with me and I wasn’t allergic to anything.  I can count on one hand how many times I’ve taken antibiotics in my entire life.  In the past 30+ years, I never went to the doctor for an illness.  I’ve had colds, various and sundry viruses and infections, but they ran their course with slowing down, plenty of rest and fluids.  I believe that the primary strategy should be to give your body the time to heal itself first, and if that fails look for an alternative strategy from your doctor.

Imagine my surprise when about six years ago the symptoms of celiac disease manifested themselves.  (Note: I was going through an acute stressful time in my life when this occurred.)  Along the way, other unexpected food allergies have presented themselves as well.

One of my favorite foods was peanut butter.  Since I was a little girl, I loved feasting on “peanut butter on spoon”.  Out of the blue one day, a typical teaspoon of one of my favorite foods sent me into an anaphylactic reaction.  And then a few months after that incident, a bite of a granola bar with cashews sent me on my first ambulance ride with a rapidly constricting throat to the emergency ward.  My favorite food is now a deadly poison.

I’ve had mild intestinal reactions to all vinegars and vinegar products (a little balsamic is OK), more than three glasses of red wine (not white wine or champagne), milk and cream (not cheese, thank the Universe!).  I’ve also realized that I’m thirsty all the time.  It seems that no matter how much water I drink, I can’t seem to quench my thirst.  I even sleep with water next to my bed and drink several glasses throughout the night and still wake up thirsty.  The water goes right through me and doesn’t seem to be absorbed.  (I have recently been prodded, poked, examined and tested by a battery of doctors as a result of my once in 50-year checkup and they all agree that I’m the picture of health.)

Both my mom and my grandmother suffered from asthma; my grandmother dealt with it her whole life.  When I have an asthmatic reaction, my wheezing and coughing sound just like theirs!  I remembered them being armed with their inhalers and their steroids at all times.  I also remembered that these medical weapons didn’t stop the asthma attacks or the wheezing or uncontrollable coughing.  They only dealt with the symptoms, not the underlying problem.  Mom’s asthma went away when she started eating a gluten free diet.

The Incident

So I’ve come to enjoy cooking.  Regardless of the disastrous results of my past cooking experiences well documented by my children, close friends and family, this new hobby relaxes me at the end of the day, is creative, saves money and insures a truly gluten and allergy free diet.

I recently made a delicious French Onion and Ham Cream Soup.  It was inspired by some wonderful French spices I bought from Penzey Spices.  I made a big pot of the soup and had it for different meals throughout the week.  I didn’t notice at the time an increased feeling of lethargy, intestinal rumblings and increased thirst that got progressively worse through the week.

And then it happened.  About five minutes after devouring the last of my delectable French Onion and Ham Cream Soup, the tell-tale signs of an oncoming asthma attack occurred: mucous pouring into my lungs, wheezing, airways closing up, unrelenting coughing.

In addition, I had horrible abdominal cramping.  I was tremendously thirsty, but the water just seemed to go through me and make me even thirstier.  At about 4:00 am just as I was about to get myself to the hospital, I started to slowly stabilize, meaning I wasn’t getting worse.

I slept for a little bit, then woke up coughing uncontrollably.  My throat was so parched it felt like sandpaper.  I dragged myself through a day of work exhausted, not being able to really get a good breath and feeling so very thirsty.

That night I literally coughed all night long sitting straight up in a chair; I couldn’t lie down because of the coughing.  I couldn’t go to work the next day.  I needed to discover why this happened, how I can prevent it from happening again and implement an immediate strategy for managing this health crisis.

Hypothesis

I realized there was a relationship between several factors: celiac disease, since I had no allergies until it manifested itself; cow’s milk, which I knew was a highly allergic food; asthma, as the allergic reaction, and dehydration, because of the incessant thirst.  By understanding how all of these factors related to each other, I thought I could figure out a strategy to 1) get myself into a healthy state quickly and 2) prevent this health crisis from happening again. (Even thought I knew this was an asthma attack, I wanted to make doubly sure it wasn’t pneumonia or something similar.  I had no fever, chills, aches or pains, headache, or upper respiratory infection.  I was fine one minute and not fine the next.)

Research

Asthma is a disease in which inflammation of the airways causes airflow into and out of the lungs to be restricted.  When an asthma attack occurs, mucus production is increased, muscles of the bronchial tree become tight, and the lining of the air passages swells, reducing airflow and producing the characteristic wheezing and coughing.  Asthma symptoms are usually worse at night.

There is high correlation between people who have celiac disease and people who have sensitivities to proteins found in cow's milk.  Milk is one of the most common food allergens in the American diet.  And most cows eat a lot of grain and perhaps there’s a link here.  Milk allergy symptoms can occur within minutes or hours after consuming the dairy product.  They can be triggered by a very small amount of milk protein in the system. 

There is also a relationship between celiac disease, asthma and dehydration.  People with celiac disease are often very thirsty even after drinking lots of water.  And so are people with asthma.  If fact, many doctors now think that asthma is a symptom of the body managing its water supply.

This is how it works…

Water is needed for every function of the body. Our bodies are 75% water and our brains are 85% water.  Because of the water used in breathing, digestion, enzyme and hormone production, immune function, toxin removal and so on, we need to replace that water frequently throughout the day or our health will suffer.

When we start to dehydrate, histamine production increases to conserve water in our bodies. 

This is vital since our lungs must remain moist to work properly.  Excess histamine, a defense against losing more water, makes it difficult to breath and triggers an asthma attack.  Histamine also stimulates mucous production to help seal in moisture, but that also leads to increased breathing difficulties.  Histamines are also important for immune function, but during dehydration they are mostly used to look for water.  If dehydration becomes chronic, the immune system will suffer; allergies, both inhalant and food allergies, will result because histamine is important for the proper balance of Tcells, antibodies and so on.

Elevated histamine in the lungs causes the spasm of the bronchioles.  This conserves moisture that would normally be lost during breathing.  The mucus that clogs up the airways is the body’s attempt to keep the airways from completely drying out.  Inflammation in the airways is the result of the body bringing more “micro-circulation” to the lungs as a result of dehydration.

Common problem foods for people with asthma are dairy and gluten.  Both are very hard to digest and require a lot of water to break down.  If there is not enough water in the digestive tract when food is taken in, water will be pulled from other parts of the body and localized dehydration will result.  This can lead to asthma, among other problems.

Allergy symptoms of any kind are a sign that we need to drink more water.  Antihistamines and most medicines, either directly or indirectly, actually are counterproductive for the body because they further dehydrate the body and shut off the body’s search for water.  Pain, inflammation and digestive problems are also typically signs of dehydration.  Dehydration is a common cause of migraines, for example. 

And then I unexpectedly learned about salt…

Salt is the other half of the hydration equation.  Salt is vital for the generation of hydroelectric energy and transmission of nerve impulses in all the cells.  Salt acts as a natural antihistamine through salt-sensing nerves on the tongue and plays a major role in regulating water.  Without enough salt, water is not absorbed.

My Strategy

The first step was to get myself in a healthy state.  My re-hydration plans included continually drinking filtered water even through the night, teaspoons of honey to soothe my raw throat when needed and pinches of pink Australian sea salt (a Christmas gift from my wonderful mom) on my tongue throughout the day and night when I felt I needed it, although any sea salt would do.  I also had vegetable juice and fruit juice for additional fluids.

I noticed the salt working in a couple of hours.  I was beginning to absorb the water (I didn’t have to pee every time I drank some water).  It took about two days before the thirst went away.  It was great waking up without a parched throat.  The coughing was still uncontrollable, especially at night, but instead of a constant, non-productive coughing and horrible wheezing, the mucus was beginning to become looser.  It took another three nights before I could sleep lying down, but the mucus had really broken up.  The coughing was actually allowing the mucus to get out of my lungs.  It took about six days to feel like myself again.  I did gain about five pounds.  But I lost it quickly and it was fat lost, not precious water.  Besides, there’s nothing glamorous about walking around in a dehydrated, sickly state.

The second step is to not let this happen again.  I’m now drinking no less than 10 eight-ounce glasses of water every day with a pinch of salt on my tongue if I feel I need it.  I need about ¼ teaspoon of salt for every quart of water I drink.  After a lifetime of poor medical advice, I now know that salt is my friend.  If I drink coffee or wine or if I get the nutty idea to exercise, I have to drink more water.  And no more milk and cream - at least until I’m stabilized for awhile.

If I feel an asthma attack coming on, the best treatment is to drink 2-3 cups of water and put a pinch of sea salt on my tongue.  This will provide my body with the water it needs and the salt will send a signal to my brain to relax the bronchioles by letting it know relief is coming. 

Conclusion

As difficult as this last health adventure was, I learned something that has changed the way I feel and has optimized my health.  I found the root of the problem and fixed it instead of following mainstream medical thinking and putting a band aid on the symptoms.  It’s really scary when it feels like your body is turning on you, and very empowering when you use science and knowledge to get yourself back.  I’ve always said when it comes to business, “the market speaks, just listen.”  I now need to take that advice for myself.  My body speaks; I just have to listen!

A Swedish research team led by Dr. Jonas F. Ludvigsson, of Orebro University Hospital, Sweden reviewed data gathered from the Swedish National Inpatient Register to assess the risk faced by people with celiac disease of developing sepsis. The researchers looked at 15,325 patients with a diagnosis of celiac disease, 14,494 inpatient reference subjects, and as many as five reference individuals per case from the general population.

People diagnosed with celiac disease as adults developed sepsis at slightly higher levels than inpatient reference patients (HR = 1.5, p = 0.006). The elevated risk for sepsis was also seen when celiac disease patients were compared with reference subjects from the general population (HR = 2.6, p < 0.001). Celiac disease patients diagnosed in childhood showed a slightly elevated increased risk of sepsis when compared to the general population (HR = 1.8, p = 0.003).

According to Dr. Ludvigsson’s team, this elevated risk of developing pneumococcal sepsis faced by people with celiac disease might be due to a condition called hyposplenism, but the study’s small size, and it’s lack of data on spleen size made it impossible to make a firm conclusion as to the cause.

Gut 2008;57:1074-1080.

Doctors are advising that people with Addison's be screened for celiac disease. However, as Addison’s is still rare overall, they are holding off recommending screening of celiac patients for Addison's. Instead, they are advocating that doctors treating celiac patients maintain a heightened awareness for signs of Addison’s, and to react accordingly.

This latest evidence is the result of a case history review of 15,000 people with celiac disease. The review was conducted by a team of doctors led by one Dr. Peter Elfstrom of Sweden‘s Orebro University Hospital.

A number of studies have shown a link between celiac disease and Addison’s disease, but little has been done to elucidate that connection. And, while this review goes farther than most, the doctors emphasize that the data is strictly preliminary, as they have looked at a relatively small number of cases and tested patients with Addison’s for celiac disease, but not vice versa.

The data show a significant connection between celiac and later development of Addison's disease, citing a hazard ratio of 11.4. The results were the same for both adults and children with celiac, and remained so even after adjustment for diabetes, and the socio-economic conditions of the patients.

Patients with existing Addison's had a significantly higher risk of celiac disease, citing a hazard ratio of 8.6.

The connection between celiac and Addison's was shown to exist both pre- and post-diagnosis for celiac disease. The researchers don’t feel that celiac causes Addison's disease or vice versa, but that they might have related or common genetic traits.

Journal of Endocrin. Metabol. 2007: 3595-3598.

Celiac.com 06/27/2007 - It is well known that following a gluten-free diet brings about a remission in celiac disease. But what are the true physiological effects of such remission? A study published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that even when people with celiac disease follow strict gluten-free diets, they frequently have inferior body composition and nutritional uptake compared to healthy people without celiac disease.

Faced with a shortage of solid data on the long-term benefits of a gluten-free diet for celiac patients, a team of Italian doctors conducted a study to determine body composition and nutritional status. They looked at data for patients with celiac disease who are following a strict gluten-free diet, and who were in full clinical, biochemical, and histological remission.

The research team was made up of Maria Teresa Bardella, Clara Fredella, Luigia Prampolini, Nicoletta Molteni, Anna Maria Giunta and Paolo A Bianchi. They looked at data from 71 patients. Subjects included 51 women and 20 men. Subjects ranged from 17 to 58 years of age. The average age of test subjects was 27 years. Subjects were assessed for the following factors: body mass index; bone mineral content (as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry); fat and lean mass; height and weight. The team conducted a 3-d dietary questionnaire. They also measured total daily energy, fat, carbohydrate, and protein intakes.

Important for Celiacs to Follow Strict Gluten-Free Diet to Avoid Malnutrition - Lower Weight and Body Mass Index for Celiac Patients

Compared to control subjects, celiac patients had a lower intake of total energy (9686 ± 1569 and 11297 ± 1318 kJ/d in males and 6736 ± 1318 and 7740 ± 1715 kJ/d in females). The male celiacs showed lower weight, height, and body mass index than their control counterparts. Female celiac patients showed substantially lower weight and body mass index. For both male and female celiac patients, fat and lean mass differed dramatically from the control group.

Female celiac patients diagnosed as adults showed a markedly higher lower bone mineral content compared to the control group. Males showed no such disparity. In general and celiac patients ate an unbalanced diet that contained higher amounts of energy from fat and lower amounts of energy from carbohydrates.

Researchers Recommend Strict Follow-ups and Nutritional Advice for Celiac Patients

The study showed that even when celiacs faithfully follow a gluten-free diet and their celiac disease is in total remission; their body composition and nutritional uptake differ substantially from healthy non-celiacs. For that reason, and in order to prevent malnutrition, the researchers recommend that all celiacs receive strict follow-ups and dietary evaluations regarding the nutritional composition of their food choices.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 72, No. 4, 937-939, October 2000

Researchers found that people with prior tuberculosis are 2.5 times more likely to get celiac disease than those with no prior tuberculosis. According to lead investigator, Dr. Jonas F. Ludvigsson, of Orebro University Hospital, this indicates that celiac disease is fairly common in individuals who have tuberculosis. It also appears that tuberculosis is in fact more common in those with celiac disease than in those without.

Dr. Ludvigsson and a team of colleagues compared the risk of tuberculosis in more than 4000 patients with celiac disease to that of 69,000 matched individuals in a general population-based study.

The study showed the presence of celiac disease corresponded to about a 3-to-4 times greater risk of subsequent tuberculosis. Similar results were found when the study population was grouped by their gender and age at the time of diagnosis for celiac.

The researchers concluded that celiac disease could affect the action of tuberculosis medication.

Further studies are likely warranted, as the study involved a fairly small number of cases, and only 24 celiac patients had contracted tuberculosis.

Subsequent confirmation of these findings would likely warrant making it standard practice to do serological testing for celiac disease in tuberculosis patients with gastrointestinal symptoms or with apparent drug resistance.

Thorax 2007;62:1-2,23-28.

The average person expels gas 14 times every day. The amount of gas released ranges from as little as one cup to as much as one half gallon per day. Gas is made primarily of odorless vapors such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sometimes methane. The unpleasant odor of flatulence comes from bacteria in the large intestine that release small amounts of gases that contain hydrogen sulfide.

Contrary to popular belief, women have just as many passages as men, and older people, have no more gas than younger individuals.

Flatulence occurs when a food does not break down completely in the stomach and small intestine. As a result, the food makes it into the large intestine in an undigested state. Most lower intestinal gas is produced when bacteria in your colon ferment carbohydrates that are not digested in your small intestine. The body does not digest and absorb some carbohydrates (the sugar, starches, and fiber found in many foods) in the small intestine because of a shortage or absence of certain enzymes. This undigested food then passes from the small intestine into the large intestine, where normal, harmless bacteria break down the food, producing gases such as hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and, in about one-third of all people, methane. Eventually these gases exit through the rectum.

Author Frank Morosky is Vice President of Flat-D Innovations (Open Original Shared Link), an FDA registered company that manufactures a flatulence (intestinal gas) deodorizing device, called the Flatulence Deodorizer, which will eliminate the odors associated with flatulence. The product is a thin (1/16th of an inch) activated charcoal fabric pad that is placed in the underwear next to the buttocks. Their products are commonly recommended by doctors.

Am J Med Gen 2001;98:70-74.

Celiac.com 02/15/2001 - Dr. Susan L. Neuhausen and associates at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City studied 97 Caucasian children with Down Syndrome, ages 2 to 18 years. Their results, which were published in the January issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics, show that 10 of the children tested positive for celiac disease (IgA anti-endomysial antibody). This is a rate that is about 25 times the general population.

According to the results of genetic testing on these children, their genetic predisposition is the same as in the general population, which leads the researchers to believe that a gene on chromosome 21 may be involved in the pathogenesis of celiac disease.. The only symptom exhibited by the children was bloating. Six of the children who were found to have celiac disease are now on a gluten-free diet and have experienced significant improvement of their symptoms.

Conclusion: Children with Down Syndrome should be screened for celiac disease because there is a 10% incidence of the autoimmune disorder in this population. Screening for and treating celiac disease can improve the quality of life for children with Down Syndrome.