Celiac.com 06/25/2003 - The following is an abstract of a recent study published in the June edition of the Journal of Association of Physicians of India by Dr. Y.A. Gokhale and colleagues from the Lokmanya Tilak Medical College and General Hospital, Mumbai (Bombay). The researchers conclude that symptomatic osteoporotic patients, especially those with associated anemia, who are younger than 55 years of age should be screened for celiac disease. Here is the abstract:
Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
Celiac Disease in Osteoporotic Indians
YA Gokhale, PD Sawant, CM Chodankar, ND Desai, MV Patil, S Maroli, MN
Patil, NK Hase
J Assoc Physicians India June 2003;51:579-584
Abstract:
Objective: The aim of the study was to identify the atypical celiac disease (celiac disease) in a cohort of symptomatic osteoporotic patients, younger than 55 years of age and 2) To study associated clinical and laboratory features and outcome with gluten-free diet.
Material and Methods: We studied 33 patients (F:M =28:5),mean age 29 years (range 15-52 years) with osteoporosis (WHO diagnostic criteria, T-score less than -2.5 on DEXA scan) from January 2000-June 2002. Serological screening for celiac disease was done by detecting circulating IgA antibodies to tissue transglutaminase by ELISA. Patients with presence of antibodies to transglutaminase were subjected to biopsy from the 2nd part of the duodenum by upper GI endoscopy. The biopsies were reported independently by two pathologists who were blinded for the serology report. Measurement of mucosal thickness, crypts and villi were done with an ocular micrometer. Other parameters like complete hemogram, serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC),calcium profile,25-OH-D, parathyroid hormone (PTH) were evaluated. Assessment of clinical and laboratory parameters was performed within 4-12 weeks of starting gluten-free diet (GFD).
Results: Thirteen patients had circulating IgA antibodies to transglutaminase. Intestinal biopsies were performed on 11 patients and were consistent with the diagnosis of celiac disease (total villous atrophy -two, subtotal villous atrophy with crypt hyperplasia -nine). Patients with celiac disease had significant anemia when compared with non-celiac disease osteoporotic patients. Other important observations in these 11 patients were low serum calcium and phosphorus, low 25-OH-D, high PTH. Significant improvement in clinical and laboratory parameters was noted in all patients within 6-12 weeks of starting GFD.
Conclusion: Symptomatic osteoporotic patients (younger than 55 years of age) especially with associated anemia should be investigated for celiac disease. Simple measures like omission of wheat from diet (GFD) lead to significant improvement in symptoms within weeks.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.