Celiac Disease Cured With Stem Cell Transplant

[Guest Doll]

Correction of Celiac Disease After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

Kline RM, Neudorf SM, Baron HI.

aPediatric Division, Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been shown to correct or improve a variety of autoimmune disorders. This has not been reported for celiac disease, but transmission to a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipient from a donor with celiac disease has been reported. We report a 12-year-old girl with celiac disease who was diagnosed with acute leukemia and received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Her celiac disease resolved after the hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

PMID: 17893186 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

EDIT: My point was not to say we should all get stem cell transplants solely due to Celiac, it was to show people that Celiac, like all other autoimmune diseases, can be cured by way of reprogramming the faulty immune response. Granted the disease may reappear again if exposed to the initial trigger (i.e. a virus), but I think this proves that one day we will have an actual cure, not just a treatment. The gluten-free diet is NOT a cure anymore than insulin is a cure for diabetes.

[buffettbride]

I would definitely say that is hopeful--but I can't help but be skeptic.

What if that child is just experiencing the "honeymoon period" we hear about with Celiac, rather than complete resolution. I wish there were more information like that associated with this article.

However, if the disease was truly "resolved" it is an amazing prospect.

[Ursa Major]

A stem cell transplant is one of the most dangerous medical procedures to do, and should only be attempted in the most desperate of circumstances. You have to first, with extremely high doses of chemotherapy, completely wipe out the immune system, before the foreign stem cells will be injected. And then, if they don't take, the patient will die a horrible, painful death.

I say that having celiac disease would not warrant such desperate measures, because it is not life threatening while following a gluten-free diet.

[kbtoyssni]

Yeah, I'm skeptical. I'd love to see more information on how they determined she no longer has celiac. I would imagine if they took care of her other health problems, her immune system would be more tolerant to gluten for a while so I'm not believing this right away.

Love,

That annoying person who tells you "oh, I used to have celiac when I was a kid, too!"

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Seen from another angle: theoretically, someone WITHOUT celiac disease could have a stem cell transplant (for leukemia or whatever)from someone who DOES--and then develop celiac disease.

[blueeyedmanda]

  Fiddle-Faddle said:

Seen from another angle: theoretically, someone WITHOUT celiac disease could have a stem cell transplant (for leukemia or whatever)from someone who DOES--and then develop celiac disease.

This is correct, I used to be on the Bone Marrow Donor list, and once I got celiac I had to come off. There have been cases when a person got celiac through the transplant.

[happygirl]

  blueeyedmanda said:

This is correct, I used to be on the Bone Marrow Donor list, and once I got celiac I had to come off. There have been cases when a person got celiac through the transplant.

Sources for that? I'd appreciate it.

[gfpaperdoll]

stem cell transplant or no, if a child of mine had leukemia I certainly would not be giving them ANY grains & no dairy either...

[blueeyedmanda]

  happygirl said:

Sources for that? I'd appreciate it.

This is from the National Bone Marrow Registry and this regards the auto-immune diseases,

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Scroll down and it says celiac is a no.

This is a site from the UK.

[blueeyedmanda]

  gfpaperdoll said:

stem cell transplant or no, if a child of mine had leukemia I certainly would not be giving them ANY grains & no dairy either...

please explain. Are you talking about a celiac child or a child that just has leukemia?

[Guest Doll]

  gfpaperdoll said:

stem cell transplant or no, if a child of mine had leukemia I certainly would not be giving them ANY grains & no dairy either...

Do you think you can cure cancer with a gain free and dairy free diet? I'm not trying to disbelieve you or disrespect you, I am just wondering.

Are cancer rates lower in children with allergies to dairy and grains (i.e. defective immune systems and/or possibly a leaky gut) who don't eat the stuff? I'd think they'd be *higher* because of the defective immune response in general.

[Guest andie]

Having worked with stem cell transplant patients personally, " a horrible, painful death." is perhaps a bit graphic. With the drugs today NO death is painful and horrible unless it is not in a controlled environment. However, i must concurr that transplant would be attempted only under dire circumstances and is reserved for those unfortunate individuals who have run out of options. Do not take this research too literally just yet, Doll. If you think the diet for celiac disease is bad I'm sure one of those transplant patients would gladly trade you places! All diseases can be irradicated if they could just figure out the genetic code and the process of stem cell manipulation, since ALL cells begin here either good or bad.

Remember, after they wipe out your bone marrow, there are NO stem cells left alive to reproduce ANY cells in the body. You would certainly hope it works!

Andie

  Ursa Major said:

A stem cell transplant is one of the most dangerous medical procedures to do, and should only be attempted in the most desperate of circumstances. You have to first, with extremely high doses of chemotherapy, completely wipe out the immune system, before the foreign stem cells will be injected. And then, if they don't take, the patient will die a horrible, painful death.

I say that having celiac disease would not warrant such desperate measures, because it is not life threatening while following a gluten-free diet.

[Guest Doll]

  andie said:

Having worked with stem cell transplant patients personally, " a horrible, painful death." is perhaps a bit graphic. With the drugs today NO death is painful and horrible unless it is not in a controlled environment. However, i must concurr that transplant would be attempted only under dire circumstances and is reserved for those unfortunate individuals who have run out of options. Do not take this research too literally just yet, Doll. If you think the diet for celiac disease is bad I'm sure one of those transplant patients would gladly trade you places! All diseases can be irradicated if they could just figure out the genetic code and the process of stem cell manipulation, since ALL cells begin here either good or bad.

Remember, after they wipe out your bone marrow, there are NO stem cells left alive to reproduce ANY cells in the body. You would certainly hope it works!

Andie

Don't misunderstand me! I am fully aware of the stem cell transplant process as a severe (brittle) Type 1 diabetic. This procedure was experimentally as a treatment for those with Type 1 diabetes as well, which I assure you is a horrible and unmanageable disease for many. I had multiple seizures before I got my insulin pump. I don't think the gluten-free diet is hard to follow, I just think many of us with Celiac will not feel better until our "defective" immune systems are "re-programmed". There is still a higher risk for cancer for Celiacs even on the diet for example. I also want to show that perhaps there will be an actual cure for the disease, although I am not saying stem cells are the answer.

I am a microbiology (pre-med) student as well, so I do understand the process and the risks. A major issue in addition is a state in which the person's body begins to reject it's OWN tissues after the transplant, which unfortunately, can be a pretty horrible situation.

I just wanted to share that like all other autoimmune diseases, there is likely the potential to "reverse" it if the autoimmunity is corrected. Which is indirectly what you said. Obviously the jury is out on tissue regneration vs. transplants/stem cells, but it all comes back to halting the autoimmunity.

I *DO* think this may be an option in the future with those with refractory Celiac who are severely ill, have poor quality of life, and have little hope and/or are at risk for a potentially fatal cancer. They have little to lose in some cases, and it apprears as though the gluten-free diet is useless to them. Also, for some of us with Celiac and multiple other (sometimes lifethreatening) autoimmune conditions this may be an option as well.

I *personally* think those with Celiac deserve a cure not so they can eat donuts and pizza again, but so they can have better health. Many of us react to the smallest traces of gluten, which are very hard to avoid at all times.

Just my own personal opinion...

[Guest andie]

Doll

Point well taken! I am dabbling in this area myself and have found it increasingly awesome, to say the least. I don't have a chronic illness myself, but watch my son struggle with it and am convinced that one day he will develop either lymphoma or leukemia. He comes from a long line of genetic history in this area.

I by no means want to discourage you in this area. It is the basis for all life and thus the cure to all illness. I do wish whole heartedly though that the treatment was not so radical and know that just by finding the right combination of chemicals or chemical reactions, some people would have a much better quality of life.

Good luck in your studies! There are alot of people counting on you!

Andie

  Doll said:

Don't misunderstand me! I am fully aware of the stem cell transplant process as a severe (brittle) Type 1 diabetic. This procedure was experimentally as a treatment for those with Type 1 diabetes as well, which I assure you is a horrible and unmanageable disease for many. I had multiple seizures before I got my insulin pump. I don't think the gluten-free diet is hard to follow, I just think many of us with Celiac will not feel better until our "defective" immune systems are "re-programmed". There is still a higher risk for cancer for Celiacs even on the diet for example. I also want to show that perhaps there will be an actual cure for the disease, although I am not saying stem cells are the answer.

I am a microbiology (pre-med) student as well, so I do understand the process and the risks. A major issue in addition is a state in which the person's body begins to reject it's OWN tissues after the transplant, which unfortunately, can be a pretty horrible situation.

I just wanted to share that like all other autoimmune diseases, there is likely the potential to "reverse" it if the autoimmunity is corrected. Which is indirectly what you said. Obviously the jury is out on tissue regneration vs. transplants/stem cells, but it all comes back to halting the autoimmunity.

I *DO* think this may be an option in the future with those with refractory Celiac who are severely ill, have poor quality of life, and have little hope and/or are at risk for a potentially fatal cancer. They have little to lose in some cases, and it apprears as though the gluten-free diet is useless to them. Also, for some of us with Celiac and multiple other (sometimes lifethreatening) autoimmune conditions this may be an option as well.

I *personally* think those with Celiac deserve a cure not so they can eat donuts and pizza again, but so they can have better health. Many of us react to the smallest traces of gluten, which are very hard to avoid at all times.

Just my own personal opinion...

[psawyer]

I have both celiac disease and type 1 diabetes.

By strictly following a gluten-free diet, all of my celiac symptoms are gone. There are challenges, but I can manage this, and as long as I do, there will be no direct symptoms and no collateral effects such as colon cancer. When you stop eating gluten, the antibodies disappear within a number of weeks.

Type 1 diabetes requires frequent insulin injections and constant monitoring of blood sugar levels. The antagonist is not known, although there are some similarities to celiac disease. But it does seem that once the autoimmune response has been triggered, and the pancreatic cells destroyed, that this is irreversible. Transplanting new pancreatic tissue provides only very short term relief, as the antibodies quickly attack the new cells and destroy them.

If stem cell research into diabetes can lead to either: (1) an understanding of the catalyst and how to avoid it; or, (2) a treatment that can grow and protect new pancreatic cells, then I am completely in support of it.

There is a risk that things could get worse. There is always risk in everything we do. There is a hope that one or both of my life-limiting conditions could become history. I am going for the positive, hope-based side.

[Guest andie]

Peter

Do you think the celiac in some way contibuted to the diabetes? Although your celiac was diagnosed after the diabetes, you probably had it longer than that, right?

I read somewhere ( and i can't remember where now) that there is thought that the gut is actually the "brain" of the body and that the brain is just the computer. That in fact the brain needs to be told what to do. On the chemical level (which is how the body functions) would it not make more sense for the intestine to decide what the body needs and what to eliminate? I found that concept very interesting.

Just a thought!

Andie

By the way. I live near Owen Sound and my kids have played hockey in your neck of the woods.

  psawyer said:

I have both celiac disease and type 1 diabetes.

By strictly following a gluten-free diet, all of my celiac symptoms are gone. There are challenges, but I can manage this, and as long as I do, there will be no direct symptoms and no collateral effects such as colon cancer. When you stop eating gluten, the antibodies disappear within a number of weeks.

Type 1 diabetes requires frequent insulin injections and constant monitoring of blood sugar levels. The antagonist is not known, although there are some similarities to celiac disease. But it does seem that once the autoimmune response has been triggered, and the pancreatic cells destroyed, that this is irreversible. Transplanting new pancreatic tissue provides only very short term relief, as the antibodies quickly attack the new cells and destroy them.

If stem cell research into diabetes can lead to either: (1) an understanding of the catalyst and how to avoid it; or, (2) a treatment that can grow and protect new pancreatic cells, then I am completely in support of it.

There is a risk that things could get worse. There is always risk in everything we do. There is a hope that one or both of my life-limiting conditions could become history. I am going for the positive, hope-based side.