gfb1

[snip... even after taking 50000 iu of vitamin d a week...[snip]

holy crap.

i hope anyone following this regimen is doing it under the advice and watchful eye of a physician. vitamin D is not a toy. it is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be dangerous. while 50,000iu/wk is not necessarily toxic -- it is approx 20% of dosages that have been found to show toxic effects. imo, that's way too close for comfort.

this is getting awfully close to self-medication. also, these pills should NEVER be around where children might find them and should have childproof caps -- not in with the vitamin drawer...

This was not directed towards me, but here is a link for you.

Open Original Shared Link

thanks much; i have a good friend who is a nationally recognized mammary gland biologist... i'll sneak it by him for his opinion; mine follows...

Gliadin was detected in all 49 milk samples. Its concentration varied between 5 and 1200 ng/ml (mean, 178 ng/ml). In colostrum (n = 14) gliadin levels were higher (range, 28-9000 ng/ml; mean, 883 ng/ml), not being detectable in one case. Gliadin was detectable in 14 of 31 serum samples, in which levels were lower than in milk and colostrum samples (mean, 41 ng/ml).

gliadin was found in ALL milk samples; but less than 1/2 serum samples. also, the striking increase in concentration of gliadin in milk might suggest that the mammary gland is concentrating gliadin... not sure i buy that.

also, the lack of correlation between serum levels and milk levels of gliadin is suspect.

i am also concerned about the accuracy of the assay (there were several technical errors in the authors companion paper Open Original Shared Link) -- which could explain the age of the article and the lack of replication.

btw; lots of folks like to peruse pubmed and usually use the national library of medicine Open Original Shared Link... imho; Open Original Shared Link is much more informative and a more pleasant interface... just another of my $.02...

[snip] ... The problem is that gluten can easily travel through your digestive system into your breastmilk ... [snip]

is there any evidence for this?? certainly, the gliadin peptide (NOT gluten) is in the bloodstream; and without going into a treatise about mammary gland biology; i would be very surprised if gliadin found its way into the secretory process of milk production...

[snip] But it would help to know if your children carry the gene.[snip]

knowing if you have a 'gene' is only helpful if you plan on reproducing.....

and even then, there are only probabilities to be considered. unfortunately, most people (and this includes md's/do's/rd's/etc/etc/etc) are NOT trained to evaluate genetic risks (nor are they trained to predict the probability of occurrence in offspring).

for example; you do not mention if your spouse has been tested. since you and your spouse (or child's other parent) each contribute 1/2 the genes for your offspring; your genetic test is only 1/2 the story.

so;

in the absence of any professional input... i would not recommend gene testing.

[snip] ... you have the option of putting them on a gluten free diet like yourself, or having them tested periodically. [snip]

frankly, i feel the same way about 'testing' in general. in the absence of symptoms; testing is nearly useless. keep a sharp eye out for symptoms... and as many folks have said in these forums; if being gluten-free makes you feel better... then do it.

[snip]

DQ2 (especially the specific one you have, *0201) is the most likely gene to cause celiac disease. I agree that you have the symptoms... how do you feel on the new diet?

[snip]

i'm sure that you may think i'm splitting hairs; and that a few may be tiring of the tirade... but; the hla/dq haplotypes DO NOT CAUSE celiac disease. these are markers which often INFLUENCE the bodies immune response to particular antigens.

also, please be very careful with self-medication with supplements/vitamins/etc. vitaminD toxicity is Open Original Shared Link (regardless of websites promoting the use/sale of vitamins). you also have to consider your full complement of supplements/medication/diet; so a visit to a registered dietician or a professional nutritionist (& NOT a supplement salesperson) is never out of order.

I was told a few years ago that my vision is 20/30. I don't believe that to be true anymore, and it seems to be decreasing since I was diagnosed with Celiac in June of 2007. I can't see at a distance very well, or up close either. My eyes are also very sensitive to light.

I too would be interested to know more info about this. It is so easy to blame Celiac for everything!

it IS easy to blame celiac for everything...

however, this is the way things go with diseases of the immune system (which, depending on your perspective, can be the primary cause or secondary symptomology of celiac disease). as another individual mentioned, as well as numerous threads in the forum, Open Original Shared Link can be associated with celiac, derm. herpetiformis and other autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis).

otoh... a few years ago my eyes were better than 20/20... now, i'm into reading glasses, prescription lenses & bifocals ... and i'm not even celiac...

So....what you are saying is that the present medical criteria, of which many people are so adamantly hung up on for a diagnosis, is wrong?

yes; it is incorrect -- as an absolute.

diagnoses are ALWAYS a made by evaluating multiple test results and, obviously, patient examination. if anything was 100% accurate and predictive of ANY disease -- to paraphrase dr.house -- 'so, you're saying that medical school thing was a waste of time??'

the EMA test itself is not 100% precise -- in that the result is not always a true measure of the EMA in the bloodstream. complicate assay error with human error -- then try to figure out if the error is in the positive or negative direction.

I understand the mechanism behind the EMA test and what the ensuing reaction is but, again, every medical article I have read and every doctor I have questioned about the EMA test and it's validity has emphatically stated it is 100 % specific to Celiac Disease and, of course, like all other blood antibody testing, a negative does not mean you do not have celiac disease. However, most of the people writing into this forum are here because profound symptoms that would suggest Celiac, not alcoholism. Also,

it's pretty easy to tell if someone is abusing alcohol so that can be taken into account for diagnostic reasons.

i don't mean to be flip/glib; but, you haven't known many alcoholics. alcoholism is an extremely insidious and devious disease. all alcoholics are not found in the gutter; and more often than not -- the doctor is the last to know.

I think it highly unlikely that a person presenting with celiac disease symptoms would be steered down the path of being a potential alcoholic, unless it's obvious they are abusing it. The EMA is being included by most labs in the Celiac panel because it's one of the most reliable tests. It's the best of what we have at the moment, and coupled with gene testing and dietary trial, it's a far better indicator for diagnosing celiac disease than a biopsy, which is totally hit or miss.

again, the genetic testing is great; and i'm sure that a few companies are making lots of $$$. but, it is NOT a genetic test for celiac disease. it may be a test for a predisposition to an immune response to the gliadin peptide sequence; but, that's all.

i am sure from an historical point of view; celiac disease was always considered to be an intestinal disorder -- which, i consider the correct approach. contemporary views of celiac disease contain an allergic/antigenic point of view and have broadened the common perception of the disease to what amounts to be an allergy to gluten.

on the one hand, there are clearly people allergic to gluten. on the other hand, in 'classical' celiac disease the antigenic response only occurred AFTER intestinal damage -- hence, endoscopy/pathology was the gold standard.

Every doctor and medical reference material I have looked at, including talking with the lab directly, have stated it is 100% specific to Celiac Disease. You also have to factor in whether the patient has active symptoms that would steer a person to having a Celiac panel done. The current thinking is if a patient has a positive tTg AND a positive EMA, then it's a slam dunk for celiac disease and the biopsy is optional. I think the problem is that most people do not have this test ordered because it cannot be read by a machine and requires skilled, human testing for a correct result. That makes it expensive to do which is a no-no in HMO-Land.

Open Original Shared Link, the converse does not follow either -- a negative EMA does not mean that you do NOT have celiac disease.

as i, perhaps ineffectively, tried to explain -- a breakdown of the endomysium occurs anytime there is chronic damage of muscle fibers in the intestinal mucosa. these proteins enter the bloodstream and there is an immune response to them.

the most common of condition which can cause this reaction is alcoholism -- which occurs at about 3x the frequency of the highest estimates of celiac disease.

'known' alcoholics (and others, e.g., patients with inflammatory bowel disease) were pre-screened and eliminated from the studies that lead to your description of the problem.

when tests are performed in the population-at-large (ie., the random person who goes to the doctor with a complaint); diagnoses are based on a panel of tests; taking into account both Open Original Shared Link.

jacflash......did your doctor do an EMA blood test in the panel? That would be the Endomysial Antibody test. It is 100% specific to Celiac Disease, meaning no other

disease will give you a positive.

this is not 100% correct. anti-endomysial antibodies can be found in patients with alcoholism, inflammatory bowel disease (non-celiac related) and after certain abdominal injuries/surgeries. indeed, these patients are usually EXCLUDED from studies showing the relationship between EMA and celiac disease.

the endomysial tissue is proteinaceous connective tissue surrounding muscle fibers, and antibodies can be developed anytime there is chronic injury to the endomysium in which the protein is introduced to the blood stream or surrounding tissue.

further, there are a number of studies clearly definining endomysial antibody-NEGATIVE patients with celiac disease.

Different labs have different ranges and not just for this, for lots of tests. Why? That I can not answer. Even your 18 with a range of 20 is highly suspicious but if your range is 10 and you have a 14 that is a positive. TTG is the autoimmune component and means that your body is doing damnage to itself. TTG is 95% specific as well.

the reason for different ranges of results for different tests is due to different labs having different standard curves. there was a GREAT answer about how these test are done in another thread.

now, imagine this complex process being repeated in different laboratories, by different people, with different equipment and different reagents at different temperatures. the key is that the results should be internally consistent. it's a BIG mistake (and one frequently made by folks who are not trained as analytical chemists) to assume that the numbers are absolute.

you also have to be VERY careful regarding the 'high/low, but normal' discussion. you are either within the 'normal' range, or not. this comparison is a statistical descriptor of having 95% confidence that you are no different from the population average.

one problem is that there is NO SINGLE TEST. a good physician will arrive at a diagnosis based on several tests that match particular symptoms. alternatively, with regard to celiac disease, a lot of people in this forum (and, elsewhere) find through trial and error that they feel better and are no longer sick when they consume a gluten free diet. if the symptoms go away and you feel good (AND have no other problems) -- then perhaps that is the best diagnosis of all.

My mom had positive blood test results right off, and recently had a clearly positive biopsy. My sister tested negative in the blood test, but they did a biopsy since she was having stomach ulcers, and also found damage to the villi.

My father passed away some years ago, so we don't know it he had it, but two of his siblings also have celiac. my mom's sister has it (as well as going through Thyroid cancer).

sorry... but, you need to say which blood tests. further, if you are experiencing bruising -- for which anemia is one of the easiest/most common reasons -- it was probably included in your first round of blood tests (whether blood iron, hemoglobin, transferrin, rbs's or just packed cell volume (pcv)).

liver enzyme tests matter... ALT (alanine transaminase) and AST (aspartate transaminase) are typical for liver function tests. these exist in the hepatocytes (liver cells) themselves. ALP (alkaline phosphatase) is also measured -- but, for a different reason -- alp is found in the bile ducts and bone tissues.

I am new to the world of Celiacdom and the whole online culture of the community. Please forgive me if this is a silly or offensive question; it is meant sincerely.

In light of the very high accuracy of the tTG test, and in light of studies showing that a tTG over 30 is 100% indicative of celiac disease except under clearly-understood circumstances, why do people still insist on a biopsy? In 3-4 days of scanning online forums I've repeatedly seen biopsies referred to as "The Gold Standard" (caps and all) and even a couple of folks who refer to themselves as "Gold Star Celiac", like it's a status symbol.

Now, if I were the executive director of The National Association for the Financial Enrichment of Gastroenterologists, I'd love this sort of mindset-establishing branding. But as someone who has probably had undiagnosed celiac disease for decades, who got a 59 on the tTG, who is probably facing a 'scope in a few weeks, and who is -- and this is the real reason I ask -- REALLY reluctant to inflict scopes on his 9-yr-old and 6-yr-old sons who probably also have it, what's the point? What useful, relevant info does the biopsy consistently deliver that a high-positive tTG plus several months on the diet wouldn't? Why should I do this to my kids?

well... tissue transglutaminase is a cytosolic enzyme that plays several roles in the body. ONE of which is its appearance as a diagnostic of celiac disease. ttg is also elevated in response to other types of tissue inflammatory processes and, sometimes, tumor formation. its job is to break down cross-linking of proteins, and does this in a variety of tissues -- ranging from the lung to the placenta to oocytes to fibroblasts to intestinal tissues.

so... most celiacs have elevated ttg-antibodies, in part because of the initial intestinal damage and in part because ttg binds to gliadin and causes a b-cell mediate response. however, it does NOT follow that all people with elevated ttg/ab's are celiacs.

btw -- as to why you should 'inflict' the test on your kids... well, it depends. are they symptomatic? have they had blood tests?? etc.etc.etc.

i should also reprise the opinion of jestgar... (and there ARE differences of opinion on this matter)... to some degree diagnoses and tests are of academic interest (and satisfy the rational portion of our brain). if being on a gluten-free diet eliminates the symptoms and there are no other problems..... why bother?

Hello,

My mother and sister were both recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and despite my negative blood test, I'm not ruling out the possibility that I could have it/develop it as well.

[snip]

how were your mom/sis diagnosed?? what blood tests??

what about your dad?

Hello all,

In the past few years, cases of celiac have been cropping up all through my family, on both my mother and father's sides. First was my aunt, who only found out after being diagnoses with Thyroid cancer (which was likely caused by her having undiagnosed celiac). An aunt and uncle on my father's side also found out they have it. My mother and sister also found out they have it. My mom had a positive blood test and biopsy. My sister's blood test was negative, but her biopsy (done because she was suffering severe stomach ulcers and horrible depression) was positive. I had the blood test done about a year ago and it also came back negative, though I think I have a least some symptoms that could point to celiac.

[snip]

just for fun; your pedigree is located Open Original Shared Link -- minus the 'aunt' whose relationship is not defined... you are the 'P' (00106), your dad is the '?' (00102). 'plus' signs indicate a postive test of some kind...

part of the problem with diagnosis of celiac disease is an extremely variable age of expression. at least in part, this has to do with familial dietary habits (i.e., how often do you eat bread/pasta...). though, genetics clearly plays a role.

btw -- genes ALWAYS influence blood test results. just maybe not in the way we think/expect. also, a 'negative genetic test' does NOT mean you have no chance of developing celiac disease. 1st, there is no true genetic test for celiac disease. 2nd, if you do not carry one or all of the celiac-associated MHC haplotypes, you may still have a wheat/gluten allergy and/or intolerance. be careful out there.

my sense of the universe is that you should NOT get a biopsy until your tissue transglutaminase and/or endomysial antibodies are positive -- as these test results are indicative of intestinal damage. not sure what you mean when you say your sisters blood test was 'negative' and biopsy 'positive'. what blood test; what biopsy?

also, since celiac disease is a disease of malabsorption -- it would not be unusual to have other deficiencies (esp., iron or other +2 metals).

gfb1, what you say is not quite right.

If you read up on celiac and HLA DQ, then you will find just after half an hour or earlier, that there are half genes.

That is because for example the main celiac gene is 0501 in the alpha chain, and 0201 in teh beta chain.

It is well known that several celiac only have the 05* in the alpha chain. Also, a study of sardinian celiacs show that many have DQ7, whose alspha chain is---taramtata--05*.[snip]

understood.

its a question of terminology.

you can have 1/2 a protein; partial functional elements, etc. but, NOT 1/2 a gene. 1/2 a gene is a non-functional gene.

a haplotype is NOT half a gene...

a haplotype is a pattern of alleles (or genes) in the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus/loci, which defines which antigens are recognized by T cells.

Is there any way you can get your doctor to look for celiac first rather than last? Have you told him about the good response you had to the diet? I would insist on making celiac the first rather than the last priority. The diet may resolve a lot of issues and negate the need for further testing once it is decided you need the diet. At the very least could you request that they do an endo before any other testing? Not that the endo is for sure diagnostically, there are still false negatives with that, but so many have to go through the discomfort of the prep for a colonoscopy and then hear that everything is fine and get rescheduled for another appointment for the endo, which does not require the prep that the colonoscopy does. You also do have the option of going back on the diet and continueing to heal, you don't need a doctors permission to be gluten free and sometimes the best test is our resolution of problems.

rwg has good advice (as usual)... please re-read the last sentence.

i am often concerned about the effect of the 'on again, off again' gluten diets. since a large component of celiac disease is related to the bodies response to an antigen; i worry that cycling the diets INCREASES the chances of hyperresponsiveness to the gliadin/gluten antigen. think about how an allergy to bee stings progresses...

at least in the case of my wife and her relatives; their sensitivity to gluten has increased over time. i suspect that this is due to the years of misdiagnosis; when the only thing that would calm her medical problems would be to go on a rice/banana diet. then, a few weeks later; when symptoms subsided -- back to a 'normal' diet (which included gluten). several weeks later -- gi symptomology returned, usually worse.

By definition, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the villi in your intestines. A stomach biopsy can't rule it in or out.

this is a VERY interesting thread.

so...

has the work on mhc locus completely supplanted the concept of celiac as an inborn error of metabolism??

the nih does not say so directly... i Open Original Shared Link:

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley.

however.. later the same article suggests an immune component/causation

When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging or destroying villi

Denial is a very strange thing!

i had to laugh when i read your note! my wife's family as nearly 35 people among her first degree relatives and all but ONE have been tested for celiac (gliadin-ab, ttg-ab, endomyial-ab's, etc, etc AND upper gi series/biopsy). its a great pedigree; BUT her brother continues to refuse to be tested or try a gluten free diet -- even in the face of his wife and 2 children testing postive and now being gluten-free. he continues to have bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain, psoriasis, and lord knows what else -- but, he's not a celiac!! not HIM...

its a good thing my sister-in-law is a bit more rational...

Casein and gluten are from different sources, but they are very similar in structure:

"Casein is the phosphoprotein present in milk, which has a molecular structure that is extremely similar to that of gluten[7]. Glutens are proteins found in the plant kingdom subclass of monocotyledone (monocats). These plants are members of the grass family of wheat, oats,rye, triticale and their derivatives. The exorphins i.e. casomorphins and gluteo-morphins or ghadorphin, which are produced by incomplete break down of casein and gluten are easily transferred across the lumen of the gut into the circulation where they exert opioid-type action on the brain[8]."

[snip]

This was one of many sources that noted the structural similarities between gluten and casein. It is well-known that marker proteins in cell membranes will lock in with similar chemicals. That is how drugs work for the most part - by mimicking structurally a chemical found in the body and producing a similar effect. So, it is certainly not far-fetched to think that the cells reaction to gluten and casein might be similar if those two proteins are structurally very similar.

Laurie

anything is 'possible' i suppose...

however, antibodies interact with epitopes, which are short amino-acid sequences (usually 2-4 amino acids) contained in the proteins. a clustal analysis of the sequence of bovine casein and wheat gluten has a score of 12 -- which is the same score found between human hemoglobin and wheat gluten.

this means that there are NO shared epitopes for allergic reactions to occur.

as for the similarities of short peptides with short sequences of peptides in the endorphin-family of drugs -- things can be 'similar' in a variety of ways --- for example, having amino acids of the same charge rather than the identical amino acid; and even similar to a third party. however, similar sounding words are not the same thing as empirically identical sequence and structure.

related structures can be viewed Open Original Shared Link. Dosages in rat studies demonstrating some effect of one or several exorphins have been 30mg/kg of purified peptide -- so an 60kg person would need to consume 1.8grams of the purified exorphin just to mimic the rat studies. to my knowledge, there is no human equivalent and no way of knowing how much gluten is actually partially digested into an exorphin.

a stretch, imo.

BTW: there is also a sequence in human beta-hemoglobin, YPWTQ, which has a similar degree of homology to the other exorphins, and can also result from incomplete hydrolysis of hemoglobin.

omg; hemoglobin is an endorphin!!!!

ok.. not really

My first question is, since casein and gluten are so similar, is it normal to test positive to casein and not gluten? It seems every diet I come across for casein free includes gluten free. My casein and whey sensitivities are only slight, scoring +1 out of a [+1 to +5] scale. The doctor hopes that by eliminating casein for 3 months and the candida, I should no longer be sensitive.

what makes you think that casein and gluten are similar?? they are not. casein is from milk (read: animal protein -- and, in most food products, specifically cow's milk), while gluten is a plant protein found in some of the grasses (wheat, rye, barley).

i seem to say this a lot in the forum; but, not to be mean-spirited or rude, but....

i'm not sure what a 'candida' problem is.. but, be careful. there are a lot of people making money by providing genuinely sick folks Open Original Shared Link.

i agree with rwg's advice. however, may have an additional suggestion.

if you suspect that you have more than one food allergy/sensitivity then you (imho) you might try a systematic approach to your diet. start by going one week with a simple allergen-free diet.

only rice/potatoes/banana. there are examples of this all over the place; and if you contact a decent registered dietician (NOT someone with a shingle that says 'nutritionist'...) they can help you with a more interesting menu.

add ONE food back at a time (again, one week per food or is it one food per week??) ... whether corn/soy/eggs/strawberries etc... and see how you feel.

i also agree with the 'processed' food comment (at least until you have more experience). while ingredient/allergen labeling has improved over the last 2 yrs, there are still issues of mislabeling and cross-contamination (my wife's biggest problem food is 'soy sauce', who would have thought that the primary ingredient in most SOY sauces is WHEAT!! and few restaurants can tell the difference....)

I had the celiac panel done about a week ago. I tested positive for the Gliadin IGG but negative for the Gliadin IGA, I also have iron deficiency and autoimmune thyroid disorder. So I feel like this result confirmed I have Celiac, but after reading a bit more about the tests and what they mean I am feeling unsure. I have been gluten free (almost) for a week, but I only feel slightly better. i don't have a lot of digestive problems fortunately, but often feel fatigue and a kind of brain fog feeling. Should i have the biopsy done? Do i need to start eating wheat again to have the biopsy show anything. Not sure where to go from here, my naturopath wants me to go gluten free for about 3 weeks and then introduce wheat for a day and see how I feel. Anyone have another suggestion?

i don't want to be mean-spirited... but, go find a real doctor in your area who has an interest/specialty in celiac disease. they exist.

i am assuming that when you say you tested positive for gliadin-igg that this was a blood test. it is not unusual for celiacs to be positive for gliadin-igg and negative for gliadin-iga, as a significant percentage (i forget the #) of celiacs are iga-deficient (there is a blood test for this as well, ask your physician if you want to know).

igg is the major serum immunoglobin; while, in the olden days, it was thought that iga was confined to the mucous membranes. this is not entirely the case; but, a good rule of thumb.

iron deficiency is also common among celiacs, whether due to a direct association with the disease or a byproduct of intestingal damage is not known. i know of several cases where individuals who have been gluten-free for several years still have difficulty absorbing iron from oral supplements -- and needs iron infusions to maintain hemoglobin levels.

one last thing; other autoimmune problems are not uncommon among celiacs (esp when consuming gluten). 'fogginess', decrease mental acuity and fatigue are also not uncommon. while your body repairs intestinal damage rapidly, one week is too short a time to expect much of anything. secondarily, immune issues take even longer to subside (you can always think about it like a vaccination -- with many vaccines you only need one 'shot' for a lifetime of antibodies; similarly, once inocculated with gluten -- you will have those antibodies for a long time.)

You are producing antibodies to gliadin, tissue transglutaminase and casein. None of these happen in "normal" people.

You are not excreting more than the normal amount of fat, so your intestines aren't too damaged (yet).

You also carry genes which are associated with gluten sensitivity.

'normal' is just a setting on the washing machine..

any 'normal' person would develop antibodies to gliadin, tissue transglutaminase (TTG) and casein (for that matter, bee stings and pork chops....) -- if those proteins were injected into their veins. the release of TTG is associated with the cell-death of intestinal enterocytes (and possibly other cells).

it is, however, certainly possible that some individuals are predisposed to be 'allergic' to wheat-derived peptides (such as gliadin), which would certainly result in gastrointestinal distress and possibly, in the long term, intestinal damage -- leading to other symptoms.

casein is an interesting case. casein, being a milk protein, is found in ALL mammals -- and allergies/responses can be species specific (e.g., commonly, human, sheep or goats milk is fine -- but, allergies exist to cows milk!). honestly, i'm very surprised that -- since an immune response is a secondary symptom of celiac disease (primary being inability to digest wheat gluten), that allergy testing has not taken on a larger role in diagnosis/treatment.

Yes...positive results for gluten sensitivity. My obgyn thinks I should just follow the diet and see if my periods return and bone density improves and sees no need for an official diagnosis, since I already see improvements in brain fog/gastrointestinal symptoms. He's actually the one that suggested the Enterolab test.

'bone density'??

be very careful with measurements for bone density. there are a variety of ways that bone density can be estimated; however, these measurements change very slowly and have a fairly wide range of error. see Open Original Shared Link.

btw -- even in elderly women, weight bearing exercise also significantly increases bone density (on the order of a 5-10% increase after 1 year).

one other thing;

imho, celiacs should also periodically have their blood iron/zinc levels checked (generally iron is easiest to check by looking at hemoglobin/ferritin/even packed cell volume... zinc is a little more difficult/specialized).

it appears that in some celiac patients iron absorption is impaired -- perhaps due to damage to the intestinal membrane or some shared metal-transporter. hair loss; which i have seen mentioned several times in these forums, can be due to zinc-deficiency (which is transported by some of the same proteins that move iron into the bloodstream).

Open Original Shared Link there are many with half a gene.

DQ7,5 has 05* in the alpha chain, and half a celiac gene (DQ2,5 has 05* in the alpha chain)

Oddly peple never come here telling us they ahve half a gene, I guess labs do not report it and thus miss it....just speculating.

not to be a stickler... but, you can't have "half a gene". on 2nd thought, i suppose you could --- but, then more than likely the gene would not be functional (see Open Original Shared Link). pet peeve alert: there is also NO such thing as a celiac gene; unless you are talking about some very early work implicating a glutaminase (probably/possibly a variant of a glutamine-recognizing endopeptidase, that is incapable of cleaving the gliadin amino acid sequence contained in gluten).

one problem with the research cited is that there are no negative controls. that is, individuals without celiac disease, who have the relevant alleles. this is why the same haplotypes are often associated with other immune-related diseases.