avoid gluten (wheat, rye, barley) to treat celiac disease and related autoimmune diseases, Alessio Fasano, U

avoid gluten (wheat, rye, barley) to treat celiac disease and related autoimmune diseases, Alessio Fasano, U. Maryland SOM, 2009.07.21 Scientific American with 69 reviews in plain text: Rich Murray 2009.08.03http: / / rmforall.blogspot.com / 2009_08_01_archive.htmMonday, August 3, 2009http: / / groups.yahoo.com / group / aspartameNM/message/1581__________________________________________________________ quot; What's more, CD provides an illustrative example of how a triad an environmental trigger, susceptibility genes and an anomaly gut mayplay a role in many autoimmune diseases. Research on CD is suggesting new ways to treat the disease not only for itself but also for other autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis quot;. quot; It is also clear that the CD often manifests in advance of symptoms unappreciatedspectrum driven by local perturbations fromthe absorption of nutrients from the intestine. impaired absorption of iron, for example, can cause anemia, and poor absorption of folate can lead to a variety of neurological problems. Byrobbing the body of the nutrients in particular, CD can cause such symptoms and osteoporosis, joint pain, chronic fatigue, short stature, skin lesions, epilepsy, dementia, schizophrenia and seizure. quot; [Rich Murray, adequate folic acid (folate) levels are essential to people protectmost the usual natural conversion of methanol by the body and then intoformaldehyde formic acid, both potent cumulative toxins.Sources includes methanol and formaldehyde alcohol beverages, wood smoke tobaccoand, and aspartame. Ofmethanol Not only the small amount of alcohol in drinks enough to cause many quot; despu�squot day, hangovers, but also serious birth defects when women drink during pregnancy theirearly. ] quot; ... inflammatory bowel diseases ... quot; http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfmid=celiacdiseaseinsightshttp://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfmid=celiac disease insightsprint = trueAlessio Fasano is Professor of Pediatrics , medicine and physiology of the mucosal anddirector Research Center for Biology and CeliacResearch Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Much of his basicand clinical research focuses on the role of intestinal permeability into development of celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders.Scientific American Magazine July 21, 2009August, 2009, pages 5461, quot; Surprises Cel�acaquot Disease; . Celiac Disease Insights: The AutoimmunityStudy clues to solve a potentially fatal foodtriggered diseases discovered a processthat can contribute to many autoimmune disordersBy Alessio FasanoMy vote for the most important scientific revolution of all time Crawl East 10,000 years ago East, when people realized that newplants arise from seeds that fall to the ground from other plants arealization that led to the birth of agriculture. Before the observation, the human race has based his diet on fruits, nuts, tubers and occasionalmeats. People had to move to where their food came to be, putting themata mercy of events and longterm decisions impossible.Once human settlement discovered the secret of the seeds, which quickly learned todomesticate crops ultimately crossing different grasses createsuch basic grains such as wheat, rye and barley, which is nutritious, versatile, storable, and valuable for trade. For the first time, people wereable to abandon nomadic life and city building. It is no coincidence that the first agricultural areas also became quot; cradle of civilizaci�nquot;. The progress, however, reached a high price: the emergence of a illnessnow known as celiac disease (CD), which is caused by ingestion of wheat gluten or similar proteins proteinin eat rye and barley. Glutenand their relatives had been absent from the human diet. But oncegrains began fueling the growth of stable communities, the proteinsundoubtedly began killing people (often children), whose bodies reactedabnormally them. Food proteins and have repeatedly eventuallyrendered sensitive people can not absorb nutrients properly fromfood. Victims also would have reached painand suffer from recurrent diarrhea and abdominal to show the emaciated bodies and swollen bellies ofstarving people. Impaired nutrition and a range of other complicationswould have relatively short life miserable.If these deaths was observed at the time, the cause would have been amystery. In the past 20 years, however, scientists have reconstructed understanding adetailed CD. Now they know that is a autoimmunedisorder, in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues. Andthey know that the disease arises not only from exposure to gluten and itsilk but a combination of factors, including genes that predispose andabnormalities in the structure of small intestine.What Moreover, CD provides an illustrative example of how a triad an environmental trigger, susceptibility genes and an anomaly gut mayplay a role in many autoimmune diseases. The CD has thussuggested research new types of treatment not only for the disease itself but alsofor other autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.Early InsightsAfter the multiplesclerosis advent of agriculture thousands of years passed before InstancesOf apparently wellfed but have been documented malnourished children. Name CDacquired in the first century AD, when Aretaeus from Cappadocia, aGreek doctor, reported the first scientific description, calling itkoiliakos, after the Greek word for quot; abdomenquot;, koelia. British physicianSamuel Gee is credited as the father of modern CD. In a 1887 conference as hedescribed quot; a kind of chronic indigestion personsof found in all ages, however, is particularly apt to affect children between one and five years edad.quot; even correctly surmised that quot , perhaps errors in the diet can be acausequot;. Intelligent enough Gee was obviously the true nature of diseaseescaped even him, as evidenced by their dietary prescription: that these children suggestedfeeding sliced bread, toasted on both sides.Identification of gluten, as occurred after the trigger World War II, William Karel Dicke whenDutch pediatrician noticed that a warrelated ofbread shortage in the Netherlands led to a significant drop in the mortality rate affected by amongchildren CD more than 35 percent to essentially , zero.He also reported that once the wheat was available again after the conflict, themortality rate rose to previous levels. Monitoring Dicke # 39; sobservation other scientists looked at the different components of wheat, discovering that the main grain protein, gluten, is culprit.Turning the biological effects of gluten, investigators learned thatrepeated exposure CD patients causes the villi, the fingershaped structures inthe small intestine to become damaged, chronic inflammation, and thatthey are unable to carry out its normal function to break andshunting food nutrients through the wall of intestine into the bloodstream (fordelivery whole body). Fortunately, if the disease is sufficient diagnosedearly patients remain on a glutenfree diet, the perception architecture intestine, usually returns to normal, or near, sympoms andgastrointestinal disappear.In a susceptible person, gluten This causes inflammation and cause intestinaldamage activity of various immune system cells. Thesecells turn damage healthy tissue in an attempt to destroy what theyperceive be an infectious diagnosis agent.A details DiscoveryFuller numerous mechanisms by which gluten affects immuneactivity still being studied, but a vision in particular, has alreadyproved useful in the clinic: a hallmark of the aberrant immune response is togluten targeted production of antibody molecules to an enzyme transglutaminase calledtissue. This enzyme leaks out of damaged cells in the small intestine and inflamedareas attempts to help heal surroundingtissue.Discovery these antibodies are so common in CD added a new tool fordiagnosing disorder and also allowed my team and other researchers to assess the incidence of disease in a new way by screening people Forthe presence of this antibody in the blood. Before that, doctors had onlynonspecific tests, and therefore the most reliable way to diagnose diseasewas to examine the patient's symptoms confirm bytaking intestinal inflammation bowel biopsy, and evaluate whether a relievedsymptoms glutenfree diet. (Detection of antibodies to gluten is not decisive, becausethey also occur in people who have CD.) CD was for years considered a rare disease outside Europe. In America, for example, the classic symptoms were recognized in less than an IN10, 000. In 2003 he published the results of our study the largesthunt for people with CD ever produced in North America, with more than13, 000 people. Surprisingly, we found that has been affected one in 133, apparently healthysubjects, ie commonthan disease is nearly 100 times more than previously thought. The work of other researchers, has confirmed similarlevels in many countries without spared.How continent made a 99 per cent of cases to escape detection for so long Signs classicaloutward persistent indigestion and chronic diarrhea appear onlywhen large and crucial sections of the intestine is damaged. If a smallsegment intestine is dysfunctional or whether inflammation is very mild, the symptoms may be less dramatic or atypical.It is also clear that the CD often manifests in advance of symptoms unappreciatedspectrum driven by local disturbances of absorption fromthe nutrients from the gut. Impaired absorption of iron, for example, can cause anemia, and poor absorption of folate can lead to a variety of neurological problems. Byrobbing the body of the nutrients in particular, CD can cause such symptoms and osteoporosis, joint pain, chronic fatigue, short stature, skin lesions, epilepsy, dementia, schizophrenia and CD seizure.Because often occurs so atypical, many cases still goundiagnosed. This new ability to recognize the disease in all its forms bind stage earlier can be eliminated gluten from the diet before more seriouscomplications develop.From gluten DysfunctionCeliac immune to the disease provides a model of enormous value because it understandingautoimmune disorders the only example where the addition orremoval a simple environmental component, gluten, diseaseprocess can turn on and off. (While environmental factors are suspected of playing role in other autoimmune diseases, none have been identified.) To view the gluten can have a devastating effect on some people believe howThe body responds to that in the majority of the population. In those without CD, theBody not react. The normal immune system jumps to action only when itdetects significant amounts of foreign proteins in the body, because foreigners reactingaggressively may signal the arrival of Diseasecausing microorganisms such as bacteria or significantly viruses.A we find foreign proteins and other substances is througheating and immune soldiers sitting under the epithelial cells that line theintestine (enterocytes), ready to jump and call for reinforcements. Onereason our immune system is generally not encouraged by this three times a dailyprotein invasion is that before our defenses mighttrouble find anything that they, our gastrointestinal system usually breaks ingestedproteins in most standard amino acids the building blocks of Building constructed.Gluten allproteins is, however, has a peculiar structure: it is exceptionally rich in glutamine and proline amino acids. This property is part of our protein moleculeimpervious cutting machinery, leaving proteinfragments small, or peptide, intact. Still, in healthy people, most thesepeptides remain within the gastrointestinal tract and are simply excretedbefore the immune system, even notices them. And any gastrointestinal lining sneaksacross gluten is usually too minimal to excite asignificant response of a normally functioning immune system. [Similar problems occur for secalin from rye, and hordein frombarley. Patients with CD], moreover, have inherited a mixture of genes thatcontribute to increased immune sensitivity to gluten. For example, certain variants of genes encoding proteins known as histocompatibilityleukocyte antigens (HLA) play a role. Ninetyfive percent of people with the gene for either CDpossess for HLADQ2 or HLADQ8, whereas only 30 of 40percent of the general population has one of those versions. This findingand others suggest that HLADQ2 and HLADQ8 genes are not the only hyperactivity but causeof immune disease, however, is to establish nearlyimpossible without them. The reason for these genes are obvious from keybecomes function studies of proteins that specify.The HLADQ2 and HLADQ8 proteins are made by antigenpresenting cells. Sentinels Theseimmune engulf the foreign organisms and proteins, chop, fitselected protein fragments into grooves of HLA molecules, and show theresulting complexes on the surface of the cell for reading by the immune system T helper lymphocytes cellscalled. T cells that can recognize and bind to the complex thedisplayed, and then call reinforcements.In in patients with CD, tissue transglutaminase released by cells attached intestinalepithelial undigested gluten and changes the way INA peptides that allows them to strongly bind DQ2 and DQ8 proteins. Thus, when antigenpresenting cells in intestinal epithelialcells responsible for complex tissue transglutaminase and gluten, gluten cellsjoin to HLA antigens and send them to the cell surface, wherethey activate T cells, which induces T cells andchemokines releasing cytokines (chemicals that stimulate immune activity more). Thesechemicals and improving the immune faceof would be valuable in microbial attack, but in this case that do good and theintestinal cells responsible for damages to absorb nutrients.CD patients also tend to have other genetic predispositions, including overproduction of apropensity for stimulating the immune system and IL15 immune cells harboringhyperactive prime the immune system to attack the intestine gluten.Guilt Inresponse to the role of the antibodies could play AssociationWhat tissue transglutaminase in response to gluten thispathological The answer is still incomplete, butscientists have an idea of what might happen. When intestinal tissue transglutaminase epithelialcells release, the B cells of the immune system ingestit alone or in complexes with gluten. Following the release of antibodies directed enzyme inthe. If the house tissue transglutaminase antibodies in the session onor near the intestinal epithelial cells, antibodies can damage or cause other cellsdirectly destructive processes. But nobody knows yet whetherthey, in fact, cause harm.In as the last nine years, my colleagues and I have learned that the permeability unusualintestinal also appears to participate in CD and disease otherautoimmune. In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests thatvirtually the same three factors underlying the majority, perhaps all, diseases autommune: a substance in the environment that presents theBody, a genetically based tendency of the immune system to overreact to thesubstance, and an unusually permeable gut.Finding the LeakIt is fair to say that the theory that a leaky gut contributes to andautoimmunity CD in general was received with great skepticism, partlybecause of scientists thought that the shape of the intestines. When I was a student amedical in the 1970s, small intestine pipecomposed was described as a single layer of cells connected as pictures with a waterproof mortar quot;, quot; known as tight junctions between them. Werethought the tight junctions to keep all the smaller molecules, but far from immune systemcomponents underlying tissue of the tubes. This simple model of thetight crossings as inert, waterproof, padding not inspired legions ofresearchers to study their structure, and I was among those unenthused.It was just a twist of fate, and one of the most disappointingmoments of my career that I was drawn to study tight junctions. In the late1980s was working on a vaccine against cholera. At that time, the choleratoxin was believed to be the sole cause of the devastating diarrheacharacteristic of infection. To test this hypothesis, my team deletedthe gene encoding the cholera toxin from the bacterium Vibrio wisdom suggested that bacteria cholerae.Conventional thus disarmed makean ideal vaccine, since the remaining proteins in bacterial life cellwould provoke a response strong immune diarrhea.But that protects against bacteria when administered attenuated our volunteers, diarrhea vaccineprovoked enough to prohibit its use. I felt completely disheartened.Years of hard work, literally, down the toilet, and we face withtwo unattractive options: give up and move on researchproject or persevering and trying to understand what went wrong. Someinuition that more of this story led us to choose the path of thelatter, this decision led us to discover a new toxin causeddiarrhea by a mechanism not previously described. Changed permeabilityof the small intestine by dismantling the tightjunctions supposedly inert, an effect that allowed fluid to leak into the tissues gut.This quot; lechadaquot; all.Indeed was interesting after, in about the same time, a series clarified seminal discovery of a protein complex web forms tight junctions, however, little information about how these structures werecontrolled. Therefore, the discovery of our toxin, which we called the quot; toxinaquot zonula occludens;, or Zot (zonula occludens is Latin quot; tightjunctionquot;) provided a valuable tool to clarify the process of control. Itrevealed that a single molecule, Zot, could loosen the tight junctions OFTHE complex structure. We also realized that the control system which made possible thisloosening was too complicated to have evolved just to causebiological damage to the host. V. cholerae should cause diarreha by exploiting the host via intestinal apreexisting governing permeability.Five years after the formulation of this hypothesis, we discovered zonulin, the protein in humans and other higher animals intestinalpermeability increases by the same mechanism the bacterial Zot. Useszonulin How the body to his advantage remains to be established. More likely, however, this molecule, which is secreted by the gut epithelial tissue and cells in other organs Asby (tight junctions play an important role in tissuesthroughout body), does various jobs such as regulation of fluid themovement , large molecules and immune cells between bodycompartments.Discovery of zonulin led us to search the medical literature to humandisorders characterized by increased intestinal permeability. It thenthat first learned, to my surprise, that many autoimmune diseases including the CD, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases arthritisand all have in common aberrantintestinal permeability. In many of these diseases, increasedpermeability is caused by abnormally high levels of zonulin. And CD, ITIS clear that gluten is requested zonulin exaggerated secretion (perhaps due to genetic makeup). This discovery led us to propose that the intestinalpermeability improved in patients with CD, which allows the gluten, the environmental factor, toseep of the intestine and interact freely with sensitizedelements genetically immune system. This understanding, in turn, suggests thatremoving any factor causing autoimmunity trinity Activation theenvironmental, high immune reactivity or intestinalpereability should be enough to stop the disease to overthrow the Trinity process.Therapies I mentioned before, and now that this theory would predict, the elimination of the diet ends glutenfrom repair intestinal damage. Unfortunately, a lifelongadherence to a strict gluten free diet is not easy. Gluten is a common and, in many countries without a label of ingredients in the human diet. Furthercomplicating membership, glutenfree products are not widely available andare more expensive than their gluten. Moreover, sticking perfectly in recent years to any diet for medical isnotoriously challenging. For these reasons, the diet therapy is a incompletesolution.Consequently, several therapeutic alternatives beenconsidered strategies that disrupt at least one element of the three step process.Alvine pharmaceuticals in San Carlos, California, has developed oralprotein enzyme therapies to completely break peptides normallyresistant gluten digestion and has an agent in clinical trials. Otherinvestigators are studying ways to inhibit tissue transglutaminase sothat not chemically modified fragments undigested gluten formwhere the link very effectively with HLADQ2 and HLADQ8 proteins.No one has yet arrived safe and ethical methods to manipulate the genesthat make people susceptible to the disease. But researchers are busy developingtherapies that could mitigate some of the factors thatcontribute genetically controlled immune hypersensitivity. For example, Nexpep company theAustralian is working on a vaccine theimmune expose the system to small amounts of highly immunogenic forms of the theory of gluten, which was repeated inthe small exposures ultimately induce the immune system to tolerate gluten.With an eye toward blocking the intestinal barrier defects AlbaTherapeutics, cofounded to explore the value of a zonulin inhibitor Larazotide name. (I am now a scientific advisor to Alba and maintain stock options, but nolonger participate in making decisions for the company.) Larazotide has nowbeen tested in two human trials examining safety, tolerability and signs in celiac patients who ofefficacy consumed gluten. These were gold standardtrials randomized, placebocontrolled trials that neither drugdeliverers nor patients know who is receiving treatment and receiving Asham, until the trial is over.Together tests showed no excess side effects in patients givenLarazotide instead of placebo. More important, the first, smaller studydemonstrated that the reducing agent barrierdysfunction Gluteninduced intestinal production of inflammatory molecules and gastrointestinalsymptoms in celiac patients. And the second major study, reported in aconference in April, showed that patients who received placebo producedantibodies CD against tissue transglutaminase, but nose to the treated group. As far as I know, this result marks the first time a drug has been arrested on anautoimmune process, specifically interfering with an immune response against particular molecule made by the body. Other drugs that act less specifically immuneactivity deleted. Alba recently received approval from theU.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand the Larazotide studies otherautoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes and Crohn disease.These new prospects for therapy does not mean that CD patients may soon abandondietary restrictions. The diet could also be used in a new direction way.Under Catassi Carlo, my team at the University of Marylandhas begun long term clinical trials to test whether highrisk children to eat anything containing gluten until after his first year can delaythe boot CD or, better yet, avoid altogether. quot; High riesgoquot; in THISCO means possess susceptibility genes familyhas children and their immediate disorder.We a history of suspicion that the approach might work because the immune system maturesdramatically in the first 12 months of life and that children research has involved onsusceptible avoid gluten for the first essentially yearof life could train the immune system developing tolerategluten thereafter that healthy people do, instead of being overstimulated byit. So far, have registered more than 700 potentially geneticallysusceptible babies in this study, and preliminary results suggest that exposure to gluten thatdelaying reduced four times the probability that the CD willdevelop. It will be decades, however, until we know for sure if thisstrategy can prevent the disease apparently never shared occurring.Given underpinnings of autoimmune disorders in general, researchers who investigate the conditions are keen to know if the strategies could also sometherapeutic CD conditionsthat alleviate autoimmune currently lacking good treatments. And with several different approachesin pipeline for the treatment of CD, we can begin to hope that this disease, whichhas followed humanity since the dawn of civilization, facing its Earth.es lastcentury on track with the disease Delayed OnsetPeople Celiac born with a genetic susceptibility to it. Sowhy why some individuals show no evidence of disease until later in life In the past, I would have said the process was probablyoccurring disease in early life, too mild to cause symptoms. But now seemsthat a different answer has to do with the bacteria that live thedigestive tract may be more apt.These microbes, collectively known as the microbiome, personto can vary from person and from one population to another, even in different sameindividual as life progresses. Apparently whichgenes may also influence their hosts are active at any given time. Therefore, a person has achieved whoseimmune tolerate gluten for many years could suddenlylose microbiome tolerance if changes in a way that causes genes to be active quietsusceptibility above. If this idea is correct, celiacdisease might someday be prevented or treated by the ingestion of microbes selectedhelpful, or quot; probi�ticosquot;. Note: This article was originally printed with the title, quot; fromCeliacquot Disease Surprises;. Additional ReadingUpdates: What was the virus with batteries What is histoplasmosis Autism and AntibodiesInfected with madness: Could microbes cause mental illness T Cell TurnoffFact or fiction: Stress Causes Gray Hair new quot; Designerquot; The treatment of multiple SclerosisCan the Ravages of Dementia in HIV / AIDS is arrested http: / / # www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfmid=celiacdiseaseinsights comments66 CommentsClick here to submit your comment.110 | 1120 | 2130 | Next View: oldest to most recent OldestLisa latest Kuntz at 09:34 AM in 07/21/09I'm excited that so complete an article has appeared in American readable theScientific. CD en mi familia fue diagnosticado con la asistencia Ofan Integrado de Salud Profesional, no a trav�s de un practice.I m�dicos tradicionales esperan que el art�culo ser� aumentar la sensibilizaci�n de la opini�n p�blica tanto en el medicalprofession general. Para m� a mis hijas, tener un accuratediagnosis de la causa de los s�ntomas nebulosa ha alterado nuestro lives.elizllo @ yahoo.com at 09:38 AM 07/21/09The en las ilustraciones de este art�culo entregado a mi buz�n de correo de hoy, permitir� thecomplexities de la ciencia de intolerancia al gluten para ser f�cilmente entendido byeveryone.For aquellos de nosotros con geneticbackground India Irlanda, Escandinavia, o estadounidense, as� como otros de nosotros, la intolerancia al gluten puede muy bien ser theopen puerta para muchas de las enfermedades de la inflamaci�n y la eliminaci�n de aging.Since la familia del trigo hace dos a�os, mi tiroides ha calmeddown, mi dolor de cadera osteopenia ha terminado, mi digesti�n es andhealthy sin incidentes, y mi peso extra history.As ha pasado a ser yo reingenier�a mis recetas para alimentos de la comodidad como Mac y queso, pizza , lasa�a, galletas de chocolate, brownies, y otros, me decid� a compartir mywork, en mi libro titulado, Gluten Libertad Everyway Confort Alimentos Cookbook.I presentaciones compartir mi historia y ayudar a la gente a entender thatillness y el envejecimiento no tienen que ir de la mano . �Podr�a el secreto para reducir los costos de atenci�n de la salud, as� como el equilibrio de la deuda thenational, se esconde en la eliminaci�n de los alimentos m�s comunes en el Americandiet de las placas de los afectados Es una pregunta simple y uno que askmyself cada Noticias day.Elizabeth LoweNewport. VirginiaEllen en Maryland en 04:56 PM en 07/21/09Thank que para la publicaci�n de este art�culo bien escrito y atractivo. I haveceliac enfermedad y estoy muy agradecido por el importante tema de autor Enesta trabajo! Karen2 a las 04:59 PM en 07/21/09If cel�acos sin diagnosticar puede costar 25.000 d�lares de los consumidores (~ 75 mil millones d�lares) andeven mucho m�s dinero (posiblemente 50 mil millones d�lares) para condiciones ofchronic tratamiento m�dico y los tipos de crisis de salud causada por ofceliac diagn�stico perdido (como el c�ncer de colon), y tirar en otro decir, forodds 50 mil millones y extremos para hacer frente a otros tipos de efectos como la automedicaci�n (el abuso de sustancias), funcionamiento general de los pobres y la productividad (accidentes de tr�fico y otros) y la reestructuraci�n de los programas educativos y sociales (problemas de aprendizaje, trastornos de la conducta) �Por qu� no es la comunidad profesional de la medicina ordena la reeducaci�n profesionales ofmedical y las pruebas de los pacientes a encontrar a los que mighthave sido pasado por alto �Tenemos que pasar otros 6 a�os al estudio de los beneficioscio de diagn�stico �Por qu� no es una norma para poner a prueba los pacientes que tienen s�ntomas de atypicalnature Otros pa�ses, cuando estos s�ntomas se convierten en quot;leg�timaquot; identificadores celiaca �Por qu� hay una prueba casera para cel�acos en Canad� y muchos, mientras que la FDA no ha aprobado para su venta a nosotros Kclancy a 05:01 PM en 07/21/09This es de lejos el mejor art�culo que he le�do sobre la intolerancia al gluten, la inflamaci�n y la enfermedad. Kudos a Fasano de dicho art�culo accesible. Iam tanto intolerante al gluten y un investigador en las intolerancias alimentarias, y estoy gladto tienen algo que dar a mi familia para educar a them.JeanneTX a las 06:32 PM en 07/21/09I soy una de las muchas personas que utilizan las pruebas proporcionadas por el Dr. . Fasano#39;sEnteroLab en Texas. Aunque no tienen una DQ2 o gen DQ8, tengo dos DQ3genes, que se manifiestan en una intolerancia al gluten fuerte, junto con una strongintolerance para los productos l�cteos, soya, y m�s. Sin esas pruebas, me havebeen una persona diferente, tratando de vivir con problemas en la medida que van asinability enfocar mis ojos al dolor de articulaciones y ligamentos extrema a mi tailbonemoving fuera de lugar, y mucho m�s. Estoy muy agradecido por hisresearch.Jeanne en Texaspgs a las 10:25 pm en las siguientes 07/21/09The es una respuesta directa a este comment.Dr. Kenneth Fine es el director del Laboratorio de enterobacterias. I, too, utilized hisservices.pgs at 10:26 PM on 07/21/09Entero Lab is run by Dr. Kenneth Fine.carlson1143 at 01:03 AM on 07/22/09Dr Fine is a recovered Gluten Intolerant. I come from a huge family withgluten intolerant problems. He by far is the most respectable expert for oursituation. I listen to him out of respect for his insight and wit. He humblyfigured it out for himself and now for me and dozens of my family. God BlessDr Fine.nogluten4me at 09:00 AM on 07/22/09The following is a direct response to this comment.In response to Karen2#39;s question as to why the medical community is notmandating the reeducation of MD#39;s. I feel the answer was in the figures inyour post. There is no doubt that quot;billionsquot; are spent each year treatingthe symptoms of undiagnosed CD. For this reason there is too much money atstake for the labs, drug companies and repeated visits to the doctor ifsuddenly a trial glutenfree diet becomes the quot;first stepquot; toward findingout if the person is gluten intolerant. If you recall in the article thepart about the connection between grain shortages during WWII and thedecline of CD symptoms you can understand that it was not an expensive testthat produced this conclusion but simply the quot;process of eliminationquot;. Thesame thing would occur if one were to do an elimination diet on their own.Most of us however would not think to do this without the blessing of ourprimary care MD. If the doctors were unwilling or unable to suggest this ontheir own for whatever reason (money or lack of knowledge) I am afraid wecannot expect much to change in the near future. This is a perfect exampleof why healthcare is so expensive.Ann D at 11:21 AM on 07/22/09I am blown away at the potential medical revolution from addressing gluten.As a 55year old female chemist who first began a gluten, casein, and soyfree diet 8 months ago (first diagnosed 6 months ago), I know what quot;couldhave beenquot; if this had been diagnosed as a child with symptoms that would beobvious today. I grew up having so many expensive tests and tx for symptomsthat included GI, infertility, spontaneous abortion (we are childless),fibrocystic breasts, eczema, chronic bladder/vaginal infections, diarrhea,migraines, sinusitus surgeries more CTs MRIs than I can count.No physician ever suggested gluten as a cause; even today many have neverheard about it. At age 30 I stopped eating most wheat after noticing thatthis helped stop diarrhea and a sunburnedlooking facial redness rightafter eating wheat, or upon exercising (family called it bread red. In2005 a GI doctor, upon hearing this, did the intestinal biopsy, but told meit was negative so I was not celiac and could still have gluten. I had beeneating a little wheat and hidden gluten until Dec. 2008 when I read moreresearch suggesting links to diabetes, cancer, dementia, etc. I began astrict gluten free diet then and immediately began to feel better. Now 8months later I feel better than I ever have in life, even as a youth. Iobserved that avoiding dairy and soy helped much, too. Not havingdigestive symptoms was a thrill; I now feel so alert, happy, energetic.More surprisingly, an assortment of other pesky problems that I have livedwith much of my life went away; as a scientist this leaves me flabbergasted.I list these here as evidence to maybe add puzzle pieces for researchers,physicians, and those with shared symptoms: Since going gluten/casein/soyfree, no more: brain fog (feeling drugged), acne rosacea, itchy oozyeczema, arthritis, hypertension, chronic tendinitis in elbows, tinnitus,bladder incontinence (when sneezing, coughing, laughing, sometimes urgency),toenail fungus (go figure!), chronic vaginal yeast/B. vaginitis infections,sinusitis (can now wake up breathing through my nose), fatigue, and evenhaving 1 or 2 swollen taste buds every time I ate tangy fruits (tomatoes,citrus, melonsnow this doesn#39;t happen). Whether these symptoms went dueto improved nutrient absorption or from toxin removal, I don#39;t know. I justknow that researchers in this area are onto something very, very big. Theimplications to healthy living, healthcare costs, and government and privateinsurance are mindboggling!Jennifer in Novato at 03:27 PM on 07/22/09I#39;m particularly interested in the late onset of celiac disease, whichhappened to me. What caused the bacteria in my intestines to change I#39;mhopeful they can retrain my gut to accept gluten again some day.GFMSMom at 08:42 PM on 07/22/09I am the perfect example of linking intestinal permeability and Celiacdisease with other autoimmune diseases. I have Multiple Sclerosis, andafter much research and with the help of excellent alterntive practitioners,I was tested for celiac disease. After testing positive for CD andallergies to other food proteins (casein and egg), changing my dietaccordingly, and healing my digestive tract, I have eliminated all mysymptoms of course of CD, but also Multiple Sclerosis. It has been 3 years,and the change in my health has been profound. So many people are skepticalof using diet to treat MS, but for me it has been a miracle. I wish thatothers seeking conventional treatment for MS, and other autoimmune diseaseswould also get tested for CD. I will also add, that I was considered anonsymptomatic celiac, for I had no digestive distress that others see asthe hallmark symptom. I was only diagnosed after I sought alternativetreatment for my newly diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis.I will save this article for the naysayers.....wordsworth at 09:20 PM on 07/22/09I don#39;t buy quot;nogluten4me#39;squot; conspiracy theory that says some remarkablecollusion (as if such a thing were possible) between doctors, labs and drugcompanies is somehow keeping physicians from being educated about CD. Thereality is that many CD symptoms are common to many diseases and disorders.It#39;s not that most doctors don#39;t know about CD it#39;s that it might not betheir quot;top of mindquot; thought when they see certain things. My wife wasdiagnosed with CD not because of any intestinal symptoms, but because shebroke her foot twice for little obvious reason. The doctor sent her to ametabolic specialist, who suspected and eventually confirmed CD.Greater awareness would be great, but the lack of it is not the result ofsome massive conspiracy or because drug companies (which get nothing fromCD), labs (which get very little) or physicians are milking it to makeanother buck.nogluten4me at 06:32 AM on 07/23/09The following is a direct response to this comment.After reading the post by wordsworth I must admit how silly my comments wereregarding a conspiracy. I agree that greater awareness is the key. Thanksfor the reply.John from Concord at 11:21 AM on 07/23/09I was treated for chronic depression, ADD, something not unlike chronicfatigue syndrome that was attributed to the Addison#39;s Disease I developed atage 20, and chronic sinusitis for many years. All of those things (not theAddison#39;s itself, but that damned fatigue and quot;brain fogquot;) went away withindays when I cut gluten out of my diet after receiving a Celiac diagnosisthree months ago, at age 42. Within days! My mother, a nurse, now believesthat I developed it at age 3. It is a profound and odd thing to be an adult,in one#39;s 40s, married, with a career one likes, and to find that one#39;sphysical, mental, and emotional capabilities are suddenly much greaterthan one had believed, with nothing more than a dietary modification tocredit.Craig_S at 11:44 AM on 07/23/09I hope this helps your study, my child who is now 6.5 years old has beengluten free for 4.5 years. He was diagnosed 6 months after he stopped breastfeeding. He rapidly lost weight could not walk, climb, and at the end couldnot hold up his head. He was emaciated, had a distended stomach. Once hewent gluten free after doctors suggested MD, brain cancer, cystic fibrosis(during the six months of testing) he made a miraculous recovery in 24weeks of diet change. The rest of the family was tested for CD and foundthat my 8 yr son was also CD. I tested negative, however I had a bout withlyme, and babesios, then traveled to India for work. I became very sick inIndia and started going downhill after returning to the US. I underwentmassive amounts of antibiotics, both oral and IV. I displayed classic CDand classic lyme, joints, skin lesions, and neuroborreliosis includingaphasia. When all else failed over an 18 month period of antibiotics, Ifinally went gluten free. After 4 months of GF I feel great and all mysymptoms are gone. Being horribly sick for nearly two years is no picnic,particularly when it affected my thought process and ability to speak. I am46 years old so you have some idea of how late in life dramatic symptoms canappear. My children are thriving, thanks to GF and so am I. My sister wasdiagnosed at 40, years after the family accused her of being bulimic all herlife due to her inability to gain weight and constant sickly appearance,were we ever wrong.LindainCA at 05:16 PM on 07/23/09Thank you , SA for the wonderful article! As someone with Celiac Disease(my daughter and partner have it as well), I#39;m thankful that the disease andits health repercussions are becoming more mainstream. In my teens, I wasmisdiagnosed for about 7 years (which is common, from anecdotal evidenceof others). I cannot say strongly enough; for those with Celiac, avoidinggluten is not a lifestyle choice, it is a necessity.Re: Karen2#39;s questions about testing... Kimball Genetics in the States has avery convenient cheeek swab DNA kit available which confirms whether one ispositive for the DQ2 and DQ8 genes; their test also includes the alleles foreach gene. Some health insurance pay for it, others do not. In our case,insurance did not pay, but we felt the cost was well worth it in order toconfirm our daughter#39;s status before she entered school where we are notable to control and monitor her food intake as closely.Cheers, and thanks again, SA for a wonderful, well written, thorough andenlightening article!!Linda, CAkatyak at 09:07 AM on 07/24/09As a medical student and gluten free diet adherent, I was fascinated by thediscovery of a possible drug to inhibit leaky gut. I#39;m also on the midst ofstudying V. cholera and its toxins and I will never forget its action. Thankyou to the scientists who continue to study this disease. I hope to joinyour ranks one day (in the near future!).sunstruck1 at 01:35 PM on 07/24/09The following is a direct response to this comment.I did precisely that an elimination diet on my own. My 3.5 year old son,who couldn#39;t hold food down and had quot;failure to thrivequot;, on our second fullceliacfree day, asked for breakfast 3 times! He began recovery in 24 hours,and I am (at 47) still recovering. Of course, I know now we may never beproperly diagnosed because we are eating right and no longer causing thedamage to our villi crucial for diagnosis (at this time, anyway). But wefeel better, and nothing can make me go back to gluten. I still have muscleand joint pains, but I have no migraines, and the cramping I thought wasfrom fibroids is gone. There are other issues to be examined (I have thyroidproblem of low T3 that my primary care physician is treating and notignoring the way the specialist she sent me to did!) but perhaps I#39;m on myway to learning what autoimmune problems may be causing me to quot;prematurelyagequot; or at least, that#39;s what it felt like! I too appreciate this article.larkalt at 05:45 PM on 07/24/09I probably have celiac disease, but I#39;ve kept on developing new foodintolerances even with a glutenfree diet. So I probably have a leaky gutfor some reason.I sure hope that if Alba starts selling a drug to stop leaky gut, it won#39;thave allergens in the fillers!!! But it#39;s my dismal expectation that itwill.Stacie at 06:02 PM on 07/24/09I was diagnosed with Celiac Desease when I was 2 years old that was 43years ago. Most of my life no one knew what was going on, not even doctors.My parents suffered watching me go through the torture of CD. They stilltear up today when reflecting on this time. It is only in the last 10 yearsor so have I felt quot;normalquot; in the sense that others could finally understandwhat I was living, that I was not crazy and they need not give up ontreatment for other physical problems I have since encountered.My CD was so misunderstood that I was separated while in kindergarten fromthe other students at snack time because they were eating graham crackersand I could not.My elder sister has since been diagnosed (when she was 28 years old) as wellas my mother who thought all along she had it but had not been diagnosed.AngelaE. at 04:45 AM on 07/25/09My six year old son who was born weighing almost 9 pounds, developed failureto thrive and dropped to the bottom 1 percentile of weight by 17 months ofage. He had a speech delay, behavioral problems, and sensory issues. Hisdoctor kept ignoring our concerns about his lack of weight gain and told usto be happy he wasn#39;t overweight. He was diagnosed with autism at age 4 1/2.Fortunately, we took him to an autism specialist who told us to put him on agluten free and casein free (GFCF) diet. Within days his symptoms of autismbegan to disappear. He does not have a formal diagnosis of CD, because hisblood tests came back negative after being GF for 4 months. He is doing verywell today and most people would never guess was diagnosed with autism.I am 45 y/o and was diagnosed with celiac disease by intestinal biopsy onemonth ago after several months of severe indigestion. After going on astrict GF diet my digestive symptoms disappeared completely. I have ahistory of anemia, unexplained miscarriages, and yeast infections.Aside from preventing untold suffering, I am certain that routine screeningfor CD would save our economy billions of dollars in unecessary tests andmedical procedures.robert schmidt at 09:54 AM on 07/25/09An excellent article; well written, easily understood, with solid sciencebacking up the conclusions as well as clearly defined quot;next stepsquot;. Articleslike this are why I read Scientific American. Please, keep up the good work.larkalt at 10:04 AM on 07/25/09The following is a direct response to this comment.I relate to what you said a lot. I#39;m also an analytical person, and I wasjust so shocked to find the orthodox medical system, which we are taught totrust, was so horribly wrong.You may find after a year or so that it#39;s not limited to gluten, dairy andsoy. Food sensitivities often surface in stages. That happened to me.And now, the only foods I can eat that I ate regularly while eating glutenare lettuce, radishes and vanilla beans.The new diet reduced my anxiety, depression and anger a LOT. Also I stoppedbeing quot;hypoglycemicquot; getting jittery after eating sweets. And much lessjoint pain, quot;brain fog (feeling drugged)quot;, and less sinus inflammation.quot;I am blown away at the potential medical revolution from addressinggluten. As a 55year old female chemist who first began a gluten, casein,and soy free diet 8 months ago (first diagnosed 6 months ago), I know whatquot;could have beenquot; if this had been diagnosed as a child with symptoms thatwould be obvious today. I grew up having so many expensive tests and tx forsymptoms that included GI, infertility, spontaneous abortion (we arechildless), fibrocystic breasts, eczema, chronic bladder/vaginal infections,diarrhea, migraines, sinusitus surgeries more CTs MRIs than I cancount. quot;Jeff C. at 11:23 PM on 07/25/09Fascinating article. The comments regarding the difficulties of lifetimeadherence to the glutenfree diet struck home with me. My sister, yearsafter a positive diagnosis, lapsed back into her old eating habits and endedup in the ER malnourished, emaciated, and with severe neurological problems.She is fine now, but denial almost killer her.I am very surprised how a six page article discussing gluten intolerance,dietary peptides and leaky gut could completely omit a single reference toautism. So many autistic children have made remarkable recoveries withglutenfree and/or caseinfree diets specifically due to the elimination ofpeptides in the bloodstream (from leaky gut). Wouldn#39;t the treatmentadvances described have huge implications in treating the rapidly expandingranks of autistic kids Or does saying that risk the wrath of the AmericanAcademy of Pediatriciansroyozanne at 06:04 PM on 07/26/09This article shows that the medical establishment is slowly coming along,however, still suggesting solutions based upon pharmaceutical interventionrather than to correct mistakes in living.The alternative medical community has long recognized this triad ofautoimmune disease stimulating factors and has been busy addressing it ineffective, wholistic approaches for many years.The single most important step is to quot;break the vicious cycle by teachingparents to become healthy before they conceive children, take the necessarysteps to give birth to healthy babies and continue to raise them in ahealthy manner until adulthood.These children have intact, healthy intestinal tracts. They have no CD orany other autoimmune diseases and they accomplish this without taking anypharmaceutical drugs.There are 3 main steps to raising children in this way, which should befollowed by every family.Step 1: Eat nutrient rich foods following the principals of propernutrition used by healthy people the world over for thousands of years.These principles have been largely discarded in the last 200 years in favorof an industrialized food system.These principles were carefully delineated by Dr Weston A Price in the1930#39;s and are taught today through the Weston A Price Foundation.Step 2. Avoid toxins that are unnecessary and degrade your health as wellas contribute to a leaky gut and an overactive immune system. Examples are;heavy metals like mercury (in amalgam dental restorations), petrochemicalslike the industrial PCB#39;s, pesticides, fertilizers, most pharmaceuticaldrugs and plastics, radioactivity and electromagnetic pollution coming fromimproper wiring and filtering of our electrical equipment, cell phones,microwave ovens and towers.Step 3. Find a Healing Art that you can depend upon to build your healthover time. Well done healing arts build your bodies health, strengtheningimmunity and resilience in many ways. This greatly aids in preventing anytype of chronic disease from gaining a foothold. Examples are Ayurveda,Traditional Chinese and Homeopathic Medicine.Parents that follow these 3 steps are rewarded with vibrant, robust, goodnatured , healthy, children that grow into well balanced, healthy,productive adults without chronic diseases or the need of expensive medicaltreatments.People following these guidelines, and there are thousands that do, havehealth care costs that are often less than $500/year for entire families.Roy Ozanne, MD, HMDwholehealthprograms.netDr. Karen J. Krahl, D.C. at 06:51 PM on 07/26/09I have probably been gluten intolerant my whole life and have hadmalabsorption syndrome since I was a child, resulting in pica, and irondeficiency anemia among other things. It wasn#39;t until I started studyingwith the Institute for Functional Medicine, and did the quot;physician healththyselfquot; thing, that I started connecting the many dots, that lead todiscovering my own undiagnosed problems. Laboratory testing and eliminationdiets later, I realized I had the genetic propensity, a positive malfeasanceA test..which not all gluten intolerants will show positive for, AntiTPOantibodies test, showing my immune system was attacking my thyroid, andlater the beginning of Hashimoto#39;s Hypothryoiditis. Asthma, eczema andnumber of other problems are also connected. Though I#39;m a practicingchiropractor and have studied nutrition for years, even practicedmacrobiotics many years ago, it took me awhile to connect the multipleeffects that were being caused by gluten. Also more is being written aboutthis and studied as the years go by, and our science is getting morerefined. As to the above comment about MD#39;s; in my experience doctors arevery slow to change their minds or habits in light of new information, and Ibelieve it#39;s more part of human nature to cling to old beliefs and patternsof behavior rather than change, that it is some kind of malfeasance orsinister collaboration with the drug industry.I do blood tests, genetic testing, and the elimination diet with my patientswith good success. I believe that several individuals in my family weremisdiagnosed with IBS, who were really gluten sensitive. Recent writingsabout quot;zonulinquot;, which may be what#39;s making those with gluten sensitivitymore sensitive in the first place, i.e. having a more permeable gut to beginwith, makes a lot of sense. We must all keep open minds, read, and use asystems biology model of diagnosis in use, which connects the multiplicityof effects in different organs and physiologic processes simultaneously,rather than coming up with one quot;namequot; or diagnosis, and medicating for it.Rather than look at the broad reaching, holistic matrix of factors causingsymptoms and diseases, medicine has been using a reductionist model ofexclusionary diagnosis for too long, and it is now significantly outdated.patriciagwheeler at 08:28 AM on 07/27/09I#39;m convinced that the drug companies (to some degree) stand in the way ofmore studies about gluten intolerance. They have nothing to gain when asimple cure, such as change in diet, is the main remedy. I suspect that achange in diet for many uninformed Americans would strongly reduce theintake of prescription drugs throughout our society, while eliminating manyhealth issues. It saddens me that more emphasis is not put on diet when wevisit our health practitioners. What is truly unfortunate is that yesterdayI bought one tomato that cost as much as an entire meal at McDonalds!hannahgreen at 08:51 AM on 07/27/09Many of my family members have been diagnosed with CD including my mother, 2brothers, my daughter and youngest son and recently myself. Some werediagnosed by biopsy and some by change in diet. The authors suggests thatfollowing a strict GF diet in infants until after age 1 may help prevent theonset of CD. I can say from experience, it does not. My oldest child isnow 30 years old. Our pediatrician suggested with the family history thatwe follow a strict diet of nursing only until 6 months, then slowlyintroduce solid food with strictly GF foods until at least 12 months of age.His logic was not that it would prevent CD, but that an older child mightnot become so critically ill as quickly and would be easier to diagnose. Wefollowed this advice strictly, even to the point that they were not placedin a day care setting or even with relatives until they were at least 18months old. The 2 youngest children still developed CD.Wendy Seidl at 10:40 AM on 07/27/09I am a mother with CD of a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old. I kept both of mychildren glutenfree for the first year for two reasons: CD is darneddifficult to diagnose in infants and I didn#39;t want to risk any malnutritionduring such a critical developmental stage and it just seemed to make senseto me to keep something that causes ME such problems away from them earlyon. With my first child, my pediatrician sort of acted like I was a crazy,overcautious 1sttime Mom, but went along with it. By the time we gotaround to my 2nd son though, 4 years later, he agreed it might actually be agood idea. My inlaws, however, thought I was crazy both times.Besides the fact that this is a really nifty and informative article aboutCD in general, I get to hold up the study with infants to everyone whothought I was nuts and say, quot;SEE! I told you so!!!quot; By the way, both mysons eat wheat/gluten now and so far, so good. I don#39;t think I developedthe disease until later in life, though (I wasn#39;t diagnosed until my 30#39;swhen I had clearly been suffering from it for years, so I#39;m not sure of theexact onset), so I#39;ll continue to keep my fingers crossed.I agree with previous posters about the medical community being slow toadjust to new information and I think screening should be more common, giventhe repetitive studies showing CD is far more widespread than initiallythought (1 in 133 people Serriously And yet the medical community is STILLresistant to test people, even when they ask) I went GF on my own afterbeing sick for years and told there was nothing wrong with me. Then when Ifelt better, my doctor actually told me it was all in my head because, quot;whatyou eat could not possibly affect an intestinal disorderquot;. After I gotmyself a new doctor (I mean, REALLY), I was finally diagnosed with CD.Although I cope fairly well, I still hope I have given my children an edgeup with their GF first year so they can avoid all this.digiterati at 11:20 AM on 07/27/09My CD symptoms included a constant vibration in my foot and leg, ataxia,chest pains, skin problems and to a much lesser degree, digestive problems.Some with CD are quot;neuro dominantquot; and I suspect get diagnosed with MS as aresult, as my neurologist suggested I might be. My symptoms disappeared withgluten elmination. The foot tingling reappears when ANY gluten is consumed.This is in spite of the fact that I tested negative for CD. (The doctor toldme to resume eating wheat for a month so the results would be accurate. Ilasted 3 days before I couldn#39;t stand it and took the test.) Even with anegative result, you can#39;t convince me to resume eating gluten.As to why gluten intolerance is skyrocketing:http://www.celiac.com/articles/21859/1/CeliacDiseaseRatesSkyrocketUp400inLast50Years/Page1.htmlI suspect several factors beyond the increase from 2% gluten in wheat in the1950s to 18% today. Scientific American wrote about wheat fungus threateningthe world#39;s wheat supply:http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfmid=globalwheatcropthreatenedbyfungusMeanwhile, fungicides have been applied, no doubt to the wheat many areeating today for breakfast, lunch and dinner.A friend told me that her children became gluten intolerant and highlysensitive to many foods during a time when she lived in a house that hadmold in the attic insulation. A couple of years after moving, their healthdramatically improved and their food sensitivities disappeared.Those of us with CD may be the canaries in the coal mines. Antibiotics,pesticides, exposure to mold, fungicides in food, environmental pollution where#39;s the tipping point for a person#39;s healthHang in there, folks. Just yesterday I was in a deli, and the man next to mewas asking about the ingredients in a dish because he was quot;allergic towheat.quot; As more people learn what is really wrong with them, the generalpublic and food purveyors will stop asking what gluten is and haveincreasingly more choices for us.Soccerdad at 11:43 AM on 07/27/09The following is a direct response to this comment.patriciagwheeler,Enlighten us as to how the drug companies could possibly quot;stand in the wayof more studies about gluten intolerancequot;. I feel this mistrust of drugcompanies, while it may come naturally to some, is unfortunate.These drug companies have done wonderful things over the past severaldecades to develop cures and treatments for many previously debilitating andcrippling diseases. True that there hasn#39;t been equal progress against alldiseases, but drug development is somewhat serendipitous. It#39;s a biguniverse of diseases so uneven progress is to be expected. I don#39;t believeit#39;s intentional, and I believe the men and women who work for thesecompanies are doing their best on our behalf. Let#39;s just hope ourgovernment, in the name of containing costs, doesn#39;t destroy this industry.EMed at 12:30 PM on 07/27/09The following is a direct response to this comment.I currently work at Johns Hopkins in one of the two labs that test forclinically diagnostic celiac antibodies. I can tell you that MDs arerequired to participate in quot;Continuing Medical Education,quot; at this hospitalat least. I attended a seminar on celiac last year, and I can say thatsince I began working here (only 2 years ago) the number of physician testrequests for celiac (my lab tests for endomysial Ab, the other lab performsmany other related including tissue transglutaminase) has close to tripled,and we find on average about 1 in 100 requests we receive are positive.This is only slightly higher than the incidence reported in this articlewhich leads me to believe that physicians here are beginning to includethese tests for more people with milder or atypical symptoms.EMed at 12:40 PM on 07/27/09digiterati: the most common diagnostic test detects antibodies whichdisappear pretty much as soon as you begin a gluten free diet, which is whyyou may have tested negative. Also, these tests generally test for asubtype of antibody called IgA, but a very very small population of celiacpatients are IgA deficient, in which case IgG antibodies should be testedfor. Again though these only appear when you are consuming gluten in yourdiet.ecstatist at 02:01 PM on 07/27/09Possibly many answers lie in the article#39;s reference that humans had nomadicdiets. Adaptations evolved over tens (or hundreds) of thousands of yearsto cope with this diet. It would perhaps be wise to keep as close aspossible to this as a base diet (especially in a diagnostic setting).As I understand it (memories of The Ascent of Man Bronowski) wheat wasa chance hybridization of two wild grasses which was then adopted by earlyman because of its productivity and easier processibility. He probably ateneither before this. Similar caveats lie with domesticated milk and meatconsumption. (Note the bred for characteristics of higher fats in both andwho knows what else considering the unnatural diet these animals are fed)(The extreme example is pate de foeie where one consumes dis_eased (sic)goose liver)Processed food primarily adds value to the producer and retailer throughlonger shelf life and cheaply manufactured taste enhancers. Simple guidelines for diet follow.Eat a wide variety of food. This dilutes any high level toxin that existsin any particular food.Eat (buy) unprocessed food that somebody#39;s great grandmother wouldrecognize.Do not keep high calorie food that is quickly and easily available.Significant effort (exercise) should be required before eating. Thisensures that one builds up a significant hunger before consumption.Concerning the medical, pharmaceutical conspiracyhis no doubt occurs to some degree (consciously and subconsciously)(internal memos of tobacco companies). Note that the law ordains thatcompany directors#39; prime responsibility is to their companies#39; shareholders#39; profits. This would be a good policy (for all) in an evolved freemarket where the LONG term profits are the aim. However because of naturalgreed of directors#39;/role players#39; personal short term profits/reputationsand consequent political (and market) manipulation, this free market doesnot exist. History has taught us that we cannot rely on self administeredethics. Consumers need to be protected by checks and balances which arebeing steadily eroded by political manipulation. Note budget allocations(and appointments) for FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and FDA whose supposedaim is to protect consumers from unfair trade practices.Wake up, STOP, LOOK, THINK, ACT, REPEAT, DUH.JD at 02:45 PM on 07/27/09I found the article very informative, but lacking a few things I would liketo know. How does the gluten intolerance trigger bone loss and arthritisIs there any more info available on how the connection works Is anyonedoing any research on reversing bone loss if wheat is eliminatedthanksroyozanne at 04:18 PM on 07/27/09For readers that want to have excellent, effective diet therapies and a verycomplete explanation of the autoimmune triad of genetics, intestinal healthand diet, please see The Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr NatasiaCampbell McBride.This is a fabulous book by a doctor that has helped thousands of autisticand CD children to an excellent recovery and includes the science thatmakes the picture understandable.We must come to understand our illnesses in a greater ecological context,including the ecology of our gut and its interaction with our outer ecologywhich includes all the farm chemicals, ecology disrupting antibiotics,endocrine disrupting industrial chemicals, chlorinated water, GMO foods,etc.I am really not an extremist either. I have just been a practicingphysician for 44 years and have consistently seen that poisoning naturepoisons ourselves and by living in harmony with nature we restore harmony inourselves.If we only focus on gluten, there will arise another set of illness to keepreminding us!Best wishes,Roy Ozanne, MD,HMDwholehealthprograms.netjosepheh at 06:17 PM on 07/27/09The following is a direct response to this comment.I would just like to note that not all problems people might have with wheatin the diet are due to CD, and the person overheard saying they werequot;allergic to wheatquot; may have been telling the simple truth and notsimplifying the complexities of CD for easy communications. I myself havean allergy to wheat as well as to several other foods. I am reasonably wellinformed about CD and am confident it doesn#39;t lie at the root of myparticular dietary challenges. Just as there is such a thing as convergentevolution, there are also convergent dietary nuisances.Finally, kudos to the author and to SA for such a well written, wellinformed and downright useful article. You have done a great service thepublic#39;s education about this important topic.Yael3 at 10:19 PM on 07/27/09My husband was first diagnosed with CD when he was less than a year old,after months of illness. Because of his CD, avoided solids until ourchildren were 6 months old (exclusively breastfeeding) and off gluten forthe first year. I also continued nursing until they were at least 2 yearsold. As others have written, we had friends and family members who thoughtwe were a little crazy and overcautious. We don#39;t expect that they are nowimmune from developing CD in fact whenever any of them has a stomachproblem or frequently other illnesses, the first thing our family doctordoes is test them for CD but it is nice to see evidence that we did theright thing as far as trying to protect them.frgough at 10:46 AM on 07/28/09The following is a direct response to this comment.Good grief. The marxist conspiracists crawl out of the woodwork at the dropof a hat.Folks, it#39;s the FDA that is not approving the home test. That#39;s government.The funny thing is, even though it#39;s the government holding this back,people will still blame corporations for somehow evilly influencing saidgovernment.As always, the state loves it when you think some business is the realthreat to your freedom and prosperity.rronca at 02:27 PM on 07/28/09My son has CD and he was exclusively breastfed until he was over a year old(he was not interested in food until then). He and I were simultaneouslydiagnosed; he was age 8 and I was age 39. It was a great day because we areso much healthier and happier.I don#39;t think avoiding gluten for the first year of life will help.Martin Dubreuil at 04:01 PM on 07/28/09J#39;aimerais saluer le courage de mon frere Simon qui a passe e travers dedifficiles moments alors que personne (les medecins) ne savaient ce qu#39;ilavait. Apres des recherches, il a compris qu#39;il avait le CD. Cet articlemontre qu#39;enfin, les recherches montrent enfin la veracite de ce malcomplexe en depit des avis de certains medecins qui refusaient il y aquelques annees de voir un lien entre le gluten et sa maladie.Martin Dubreuil, Montreal, Canadajcc at 04:20 PM on 07/28/09The following is a direct response to this comment.JD,Here are some studies on bone loss/osteoporosis/gluten:http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/osteoporosisAlso, some great overview articles which will explain more about nutritionallosses and consequences:Detecting Celiac Disease in Your Patients by Harold T. Pruessner, MDhttp://www.aafp.org/afp/980301ap/pruessn.htmlGlutenSensitive Enteropathy (Celiac Disease): More Common Than You Think byDavid A. Nelson, Jr, MD, MS (AAFP)http://www.aafp.org/afp/20021215/2259.htmljcc at 04:20 PM on 07/28/09JD,Here are some studies on bone loss/osteoporosis/gluten:http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/osteoporosisAlso, some great overview articles which will explain more about nutritionallosses and consequences:Detecting Celiac Disease in Your Patients by Harold T. Pruessner, MDhttp://www.aafp.org/afp/980301ap/pruessn.htmlGlutenSensitive Enteropathy (Celiac Disease): More Common Than You Think byDavid A. Nelson, Jr, MD, MS (AAFP)http://www.aafp.org/afp/20021215/2259.htmlkidscoolmom at 04:21 PM on 07/28/09I became celiac late in life, with the disease on both sides of my family.Two of my three children acquired it in their teenage years. Living w/outgluten is easy once you get used to it, however, more expensive for any kindof baked goods. In the last 8 years, I#39;ve seen a greatly increasedawareness of celiac and have found many bakeries and restaurants withglutenfree menus. Word of mouth is a powerful weapon. We can#39;t wait forthe quot;medical communityquot; which works at a glacial pace and is in the fist ofbig pharmaceutical and insurance companies.geosources at 06:10 PM on 07/28/09I would like to share my experience with diarrhea and an organic cure thatmay help in your research. I skinned my knee with a sea shell of sorts andended up with Staphylococcus Aureus. The Doc gave me some antibiotics thatdidn#39;t work, so after some blood work I was given a different kind ofantibiotics, which cured the infection but gave me a severe case ofdiarrhea. After about a month with diarrhea I spoke to a military doctor,by chance, he suggested an extract from oregano and recommended the originsof the oregano oil come from the Mediterranean (it containing 70 % of thespecific chemical). It contains a higher chemical compound than the oreganofrom Spain or Mexico. I took four drops in my soup and was cured withinhours. I have suggested this treatment to two of my buddies who came backfrom overseas with diarrhea and it worked for them also. I don#39;t know whatit is that#39;s in the oregano oil but it works. Maybe it will help in yourresearch. Good LuckSG in Tennessee at 09:25 PM on 07/28/09The following is a direct response to this comment.You are so correct have you written your politicians to support Obama#39;shealth care reform We need to stick together on this I have suffered for3 years with CD problems and boy, have I gone to doctors and boughtprescription drugs as well as OTC medications. It is awful to think theSPECIALISTS I went to see never mentioned this possibility nor tested me forthis problem. Finally, my family doctor tested me. What a shame thatAMERICANS have to suffer because of money pressure from drug companies andother lobbiests who won#39;t change because of the almighty dollar. SPEAK UP support change we can see how the system doesn#39;t work as it is!Lynne at 10:02 PM on 07/28/09The following is a direct response to this comment.Hi Karen; There is a very good test that you can order online. My doctorreccomended it. www.enterolab.com If you have Celiac you are alsolikely to have problems with dairy because the small villi that line yourgut are what secrete lactase that digests dairy. After several months of a nogluten diet you can usually go back to dairy. Lynne/Scleroderma caused byceliacLynne at 10:06 PM on 07/28/09Karen, there is a very good test available online www.enterolab.com Mydoctor had me take it to see if Celiac might be the reason I got Sclerodermaand my sister who got Lupus. Doc was dead on correct. We both have been onantibiotics for the last decade and are now in remission. If you have anyquestions about the test you can email me and I#39;ll tell you morelynneandsantos@citenet.netLynne at 10:11 PM on 07/28/09The following is a direct response to this comment.Karen, I forgot to tell you that there are several tests available. Usuallydairy intolorance goes along with Celiac because the tiny damaged villi thatshould give you the lactase needed to digest are not working. After a yeartotally gluten free I now can have dairy with no problem. Lynnecoryjurentkuff at 11:53 AM on 07/29/09This article is so fascinating and informative. I was diagnosed with CD twoyears ago after years of mysterious stomach issues, and my dad and sisterhave Type 1 Diabetes. Seeing the connections between our conditions isilluminating. I appreciate very much the thorough article you have preparedon this topic. I learned more today about my disease than I#39;ve ever known.margebhutch at 01:03 PM on 07/29/09The following is a direct response to this comment.Dr. Fasano is not with Enterolab. I believe you are confusing him with Dr.Fine.ragaroiox at 01:39 PM on 07/29/09I think that like lactose intolerance, CD is a vestige of our nonagricultural past. Maybe CD patients experience a gluten reaction strongerthan the average person, but perhaps its not the best for any of us to beconsuming it. Ive heard that across the board gluten tends to increaseinflammation and lower immune system response. Maybe what the wheat grassproponents say is true, that it was never meant to be eaten as a grain, butas a grass.wcabelus at 09:32 PM on 07/29/09Thank you Dr. Fassano for all your celiac research! I am a biopsy provenceliac who participated in your 2003 epidemiological study with my youngchildren. Though my daughter was positively identified as celiac, my sicklyson#39;s screening was found to be quot;inconclusivequot; due to his low IgA. Monthsafter we particpated in the study, I read about an experimental assay todetect IgG tTG, instead of IgA tTg, in IgA deficient individuals. I askedyour lab assistant, Debby, if she could use my son#39;s pregluten free blood(still in your freezer) to run the assay. She did and he was found to bevery positive! Thank you and your team for going the extra mile for moredifficult cases and thanks for all your hard work and research to bring thisdisease to the foreground. Not only did your study identify my son as aceliac, you discovered his low IgA status. My youngest son, born after thediscovery, was also found to have very low IgA (among other immuneirregularities). Both boys have frequent infections and are seen by aclinical immunologist. One is on IViG. I wouldn#39;t have been tipped off totheir immune deficiencies/defects if not for your study. Celiac was justthe tip of the iceberg.srgould at 02:44 AM on 07/30/09The quote below triggered a memory from my postgrad Animal Science programof 34 years ago.quot;How the body uses zonulin to its advantage remains to be established. Mostlikely, though, this molecule, which is secreted by intestinal epithelialtissue as well as by cells in other organs (tight junctions have importantroles in tissues throughout the body), performs several jobs, includingregulating the movement of fluid, large molecules and immune cells betweenbody compartments.quot;In our Protein Nutrition course we learned that in neonatal calves, and Isuspect humans, the tight junctions remain relatively open for the first fewdays after birth. We were told that this facilitates the absorption of thelarge immumoglobulin molecules from the colostrum, so that the neonate canobtain an immediate immune protection from the diseases that the mother hasbeen exposed to. This provides at least some immunity until the neonate#39;sown immune system begins to function.Veterinarians have known this for over 30 years. It is the reason for theirrecommendation that calves should receive colostrum within a few hours ofbirth.Green Cowsrgould at 02:55 AM on 07/30/09The quote below brought back a memory of a Protein Nutrition course that Itook during my postgrad program in Animal Science over thirty years ago.quot;How the body uses zonulin to its advantage remains to be established. Mostlikely, though, this molecule, which is secreted by intestinal epithelialtissue as well as by cells in other organs (tight junctions have importantroles in tissues throughout the body), performs several jobs includingregulating the movement of fluid, large molecules and immune cells betweenbody compartments.quot;We learned that in neonatal calves and I expect babies the tightjunctions remain relatively open for a few days after birth. We were toldthat the purpose was to facilitate the absorption of the largeimmunoglobulin molecules in colostrum, that carried immune protection forthe diseases that the cow had been exposed to.Veterinarians have known this for at least 30 years because they used it asthe basis for their recommendation that newborn calves need to receivecolostrum within the first few hours of birth or it would not give effectiveimmune protection.R.G.Sydarta at 12:47 PM on 07/30/09The following is a direct response to this comment.Hi Ann, do some research on eating RAW and see if you want to try it out...I#39;ve gotten even better results with a balanced raw diet than just cuttingout the quot;problemquot; foods! sydleslie at 09:49 AM on 07/31/09 I was found to be quot;off the chartsquot; whendiagnosed with Celiac through each of the three test antibody, visualintestinal inspection, and biopsy despite the fact that my only quot;symptomquot;was low bone density at a relatively early age (late forties). I willalways feel that my endocrinologist saved my life....Factsareyourfriend at 03:59 PM on 07/31/09The following is a direct response to this comment.While I agree 100% that we as a collective society need to completelyoverhaul our lifestyles for general health, let#39;s not forget that lifestylealone is not the solution to autoimmunity cases. That is a typical responsemade by people who truly do not understand autoimmune disease and/or refuseto admit that they are useless to patients who have it as they can donothing for them.Autoimmune disease is not new. Type 1 diabetes for example (the severe,fatal without insulin, typically juvenile onset, unpreventable andnonweight or lifestyle related kind) has been documented since Egyptiantimes. So you can#39;t only blame #39;modern#39; pollution, chemicals, andlifestyles.I know MANY young children who have developed autoimmune disorders despitetheir parents living #39;healthy lifestyles#39;. They were breastfed, fed onlyorganic foods, parents avoided chemicals in the house, not allowed to useplastic bottles, etc. And guess what, they still developed autoimmunedisease. I find it hard for a #39;doctor#39; to say such sweeping statements whenthe actual cause for most autoimmune disease is unknown.Viruses have been linked strongly with autoimmunity in general. Vaccines mayplay a role as well if you have #39;unlucky#39; genes. People with autoimmunitysurviving to pass on their genes or preserving their childbearing capabilitywith modern medicine doesn#39;t help either. So please consider that manypeople could and can NOT prevent autoimmune disease in their children. If achild has the #39;right#39; genes, and encounters the #39;right#39; viruses,autoimmunity may appear.I agree 100% that pollution, chemicals, and even magnetic fields may impactour immune systems, but they are just tipping the scale. Autoimmunity canhappen without them, as evidenced by historical data. To blame the parentsor individuals for autoimmunity is just wrong.If these substances can trigger autoimmunity in those with less of a geneticdisposition and/or in the absence of another trigger, it still isn#39;t thefault of the patients or parents. Just how can you avoid the toxic world welive in today when our entire ecosystem is a garbage dump (air, water,etc.)Let#39;s start working with patients instead of playing the #39;blame game#39;, which#39;doctors#39; (I#39;m not convinced that you are a medical doctor) love to do whenthey can#39;t help someone and feel helpless. I agree with some of what yousaid, but your conclusion simply is not reality. If curing and preventingautoimmunity was that simple, no one would have it.cnelsondooley at 06:03 PM on 07/31/09Even if your doctor doesn#39;t recommend you get a celiac test, you, as aneducated patient can request your doctor run the test for you. Sometimespatients have to teach doctors what is important.There are other tests you might want to know about. I#39;ve explained thishere:http://www.metametrixinstitute.org/post/2009/07/31/testingforceliacdiseaseandglutensensitivity.aspxkashby at 07:41 PM on 07/31/09For those of you diagnosed with Celiac Disease (also Ulcerative Colitis,Crohn#39;s disease, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome) please go to Amazon and lookup reviews for the book quot;Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal HealthThrough Diet.quot; These digestive disorders have been successfully treated andcured since the 1950#39;s through diet by encouraging growth of good bacteriain the digestive system in order to heal the leaky gut. I also recommendquot;Gut and Psychology Syndromequot; for additional information and treatmentthrough diet (almost the same diet) for autism, schizophrenia, ADD, ADHD,depression, dyslexia, and dyspraxia.veggienft at 06:40 AM on 08/01/09Great article! And the greatest part .......quot;Recently Alba receivedapproval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand studies ofLarazotide to other autoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes andCrohn#39;s disease.quot;Using Larazotide to cure nonceliac autoimmunity has been a foregoneconclusion since its inception, because other immune diseases have a verylarge commonality with celiac disease. Celiac patients who also have otherautoimmune disease are destined to have all their autoimmunity cured bylarazotide.If larazotide proves safe and effective, doctors will start curing diseasesheretofore not even recognized as autoimmune diseases.laranow at 10:20 AM on 08/01/09after suffering with ulcerative colitis for years allergy to aspirindidn#39;t help (as that is the preferred medication for UC) I discovered,accidently, that if I stayed away from wheat and wheat products I remainedin remission. I was teated for celiac disease and was told the result wasnegative, but my doctor suggested I continue to keep wheat out of my dietanyway as long as it had a positive effect I have and for the last 7 yearsI have been symptom free.socwkr at 10:18 PM on 08/02/09This article is so insightful. I wish to add, from my own experience, thatDr. Fasano is right on target. For me, the quot;microbiomequot; changed whenunderwent abdominal surgery to have my gallbladder removed. When I read astudy that concluded that supplemental use of cholostrum could preventbacterial dysbiosis prior to abdominal surgery, I was convinced that this iswhat happend to me and why my Celiac Disease didn#39;t appear until age 46.rmforall at 12:55 AM on 08/04/09Here are unexamined cofactors that impair research, prevention,diagnosis,and treatment of CD and many other diseases:formaldehyde in FEMA trailers and other sources (aspartame, dark wines andliquors, tobacco smoke): Murray 2008.01.30: BM Kapur folic acid protectsmost people from conversion of methanol into formaldehyde and then formicacid 2009.07.01http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.htmWednesday, January 30, 2008http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1508The FEMA trailers give about the same amount of formaldehydedaily as from a quart of dark wine or liquor, or two quarts(6 12oz cans) of aspartame diet soda, from their over 1 tenthgram methanol impurity (one part in 10,000),which the body quickly makes into formaldehyde enoughto be the major cause of quot;morning afterquot; alcohol hangovers.Methanol and formaldehyde also result from many fruits andvegetables, tobacco and wood smoke, heater and vehicle exhaust,household chemicals and cleaners, cosmetics, and new cars,drapes, carpets, furniture, particleboard, mobile homes, buildings,leather ... so all these sources add up and interact with many othertoxic chemicals.folic acid prevents neurotoxicity from formic acid, made by body frommethanol impurity in alcohol drinks [ also 11 % of aspartame ], BM Kapur, PLCarlen, DC Lehotay, AC Vandenbroucke, Y Adamchik, U. of Toronto, 2007 Dec.,Alcoholism Cl. Exp. Res.: Murray 2007.11.27 [ actually, a fairly completereview of recent developments... ]http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.htmWednesday, November 27, 2007http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1495formaldehyde, aspartame, and migraines, the first case series,Sharon E JacobSoo, Sarah A Stechschulte, UCSD, Dermatitis2008 May: Rich Murray 2008.07.18http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.htmFriday, July 18, 2008http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1553Dermatitis. 2008 MayJun; 19(3): E101.Formaldehyde, aspartame, and migraines: a possible connection.Jacob SE, Stechschulte S.Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery,University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.Aspartame is a widely used artificial sweetener that has beenlinked to pediatric and adolescent migraines.Upon ingestion, aspartame is broken, converted, and oxidized intoformaldehyde in various tissues.We present the first case series of aspartameassociated migrainesrelated to clinically relevant positive reactions to formaldehyde onpatch testing. PMID: 18627677rmforall at 01:06 AM on 08/04/09On May 22, my age 41 daughter, after getting weaker and paler since October,had to rush to the hospital at 10 pm on a Friday night, when a blood testfound dangerously low red blood cell count. She got 3 units of blood andwas home in two days. After weeks of tests, the diagnosis was CeliacDisease.Reading the remarkably useful article and the 66 very helpful commentsraises questions in my mind about decades of symptoms in various members ofmy family.The largest support group I know of is GlutenFreeCaseinFreeKids, forfamilies whose kids have severe reactions to tiny amounts of gluten orcasein (milk protein):http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gfcfkids/messages13,891 members, 382,210 postsPlease visit our home website www.gfcfdiet.com which provides the largestlist of possible GFCF foods on the Internet and immediate help and answersabout dietary intervention.This list, quot;GFCFKidsquot; is unmoderated and unrestricted.The principle aim of this list is to provide a discussion forum for parentsof children on the autism spectrum who are avoiding gluten and casein andother substances in their children#39;s diets.We hope that the discussions will include practical information and tips onfollowing a GFCF(etc) diet; scientific research and opinion;the latest developments in understanding GFCF(etc) dietrelated healthproblems;your personal stories and experiences with relation to GFCF(etc) problems;information on what food is GFCF(etc)and what is not;tips on how to eat out of the house;recipes and tips on how to cook and prepare GFCF(etc) food; what vitamins,minerals, herbs and other supplements may be appropriate for a child withautism;how to cope with difficult diet demands, plus support for parents.Appropriate topics for discussion on the list include anything at allrelated to diet and autism spectrum disorders including GFCF but alsoyeast, nitrates/nitrites, dyes, vitamins, minerals, supplements, dealingwith teachers, friends, schools, outings, siblings, testing, etc...Please keep general off topic information off the list as much as possibleand clearly mark offtopic posts.Thank you, Cara DeHart Lewis Listowner, GFCFKidsSee also www.notmilk.com by Robert Cohen, a feisty father of four daughtersand gourmet vegan chef.Also www.vegsource.comAnd www.drmcdougall.comcfreundt at 11:13 PM on 08/04/09I am Celiac and gluten intolerant tested through Enterolab while on a GF diet and probably have been for better than 20 years. I developed 2 autoimmune diseases (lupus Sjorgen#39;s Syndrome), vitamin D deficiency, skin rashes, adult cradle cap, cystic acne, weight gain and poor tear quality before I diagnosed myself by following a GF diet and then testing later. My health issues improved after going GF, but did not resolve completely until I gave up all grains. I have both genetic markers and my daughter has ADD which improves when she is GF. There#39;s a community of people who consider themselves glutenintolerant (they do not have CD but have symptom improvement on a GF diet) and the statistic are 1 in 7 people are GI. And, there is some research I#39;ve run across indicating grains, soy, legumes and dairy are all problematic.While I think research to understand the mechanism of this disease and other diseases is very encouraging, I#39;m not at all supportive of the creation of drugs or inhibitors. I think our bodies are trying to tell us something and we should be listening! We should think about returning to a diet similar to our ancestors diet that was followed for millions of years when eating was instinctual. It#39;s that simple fruit, veggies, nuts and grassfed animal products in less frequency.Since diagnosing and curing myself of some awful health issues, I have gone to school to become a holistic health counselor. I assist people in transitioning to a GF diet and, more importantly, as seeing their diagnosis as an opportunity for optimal health, rather than a restriction.In any event, I hope most people decide to follow a GF diet rather than take more chemicals into their body in the way of prescription meds (once released) that will enable them to eat gluten something I#39;m intuiting our bodies were never meant to eat.Constance Freundt, CHHCwww.asenseofhealth.com__________________________________________________________ br br