Celiac disease

September 13th marks Celiac Sprue Association’s (CSA) Celiac Awareness Day. This provides a great time for people suffering with Celiac Disease to spread awareness to their friends, family, and doctors. The CSA has an awareness packet that is available for download from their website.

Several possible ideas to promote awareness is to take brochures to your doctor and health/fitness clubs. Host a luncheon with gluten free food to your friends and co-workers. Work with a restaurant to develop a gluten free menu.

This provides an ideal opportunity to teach others about the gluten free diet.

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Author Information: Cara Goedecke

Cara Goedecke – Oklahoma City Gluten free Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-22374-Oklahoma-City-Gluten-Free-Examiner
Oklahoma City Celiac Blog http://www.okceliac.com/blog/
e-mail: caralg520@gmail.com
Facebook OKC Celiac: www.okceliac.com

The frequency of intestinal overgrowth by candida albicans is increased in people with celiac disease. In fact, infection by this common organism, also called C. albicans or candida, appears to be a trigger in the onset of celiac disease.1 Candida is yeast, a budding type of fungus, capable of fermenting carbohydrates. Albicans identifies this particular yeast from many others.

Candida albicans usually maintains a tiny appearance in our intestinal tract unless conditions change to favor its growth. It can thrive and invade if the intestinal lining becomes inflamed or damaged, the composition of normal flora becomes disrupted, immune defenses become diminished or malnutrition reduces our health. Candida albicans infection is characterized by superficial, irregular white patches with a red base. Invasion of the bloodstream is possible and would be life-threatening. Read More »

Celiac Disease Symptoms: The Gluten Free Works Symptom Guide

Could my symptoms be related to celiac disease?

This is a common question people ask in the face of a bewildering array of possible celiac disease symptoms. The Celiac Disease Symptom Guide will help you identify possible symptoms and health problems that you can present to your doctor.

Here is the list of over 300 Signs, Symptoms, Associated Disorders and Complications directly or indirectly resulting from celiac disease.

Gluten Free Works, Inc. was the first organization in the world to publish this information in its comprehensive book, “Recognizing Celiac Disease.” This list is now being used by celiac disease centers, national celiac organizations and health organizations worldwide. Read More »

THURSDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) — Researchers believe they have finally answered a basic question about the cause of celiac disease — where in the body does the wheat protein gluten enter one’s system?

A study published in the July issue of Gastroenterology identifies the CXCR3 receptor in the intestine as a gluten gateway. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, the protein triggers their immune system to attack the body, causing a wide range of serious health problems.

“This is a scientific question that had never been answered before,” Dr. Alessio Fasano, medical director of the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said in an university news release. “It is not only significant in the basic science of autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease, but in therapeutic approaches for the future. This opens a new scientific paradigm for the study of immunity.”

The research team found that gliadin, the part of gluten that causes the most trouble for those with celiac disease, binds to the CXCR3 receptor. This results in the release of zonulin, a human protein that lowers the intestinal barrier to make it more permeable. While this effect is temporary in most people, the barrier stays down for long periods of time in people with celiac disease, causing disruption in the body’s system.

The finding may help in research on the cause and treatment for other autoimmune diseases, Fasano said. People with type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis may experience a similar condition in which offending antigens enter the body through this gateway in the intestines.

“For the first time, we have evidence of how the foreign antigen gains access to the body, causing the autoimmune response,” said Fasano, who is also a pediatric gastroenterologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “Further study is needed, but this could allow us to intervene before the zonulin is either released or activated, preventing the immune response altogether.”

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Author Information: John Libonati, Philadelphia, PA
Publisher, Glutenfreeworks.com.
Editor & Publisher, Recognizing Celiac Disease.
John can be reached by e-mail here.

The Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) made the initial presentation of its pilot physician education program to Robert Wergin, MD, at the Milford Family Center in Milford, Nebraska. Recently named ‘Family Physician of the Year,” Dr. Wergin is in general practice at the Milford Clinic.

With this presentation, CSA launched the first phase of the most ambitious celiac disease physician education program in United States history – the CSA Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity Physician Education Program (CSA-PEP).

The CSA-PEP was created to increase diagnosis and improve treatment while increasing celiac disease awareness in the medical community and the public. It will provide 60,800 doctors and 10,000 medical students with information and resources that will aid them in identifying, diagnosing and treating people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

The program is designed so individuals have the option, with a donation of $70 or more, to present the CSA-PEP package to their personal physicians so they can receive optimal care.

This program advances CSA efforts to promote the CSA mission statement: “Celiacs Helping Celiacs.”

Materials in the CSA-PEP package include both physician and patient information: National Institutes of Health (NIH) celiac disease materials; information on dermatitis herpetformis; a gluten-free diet guide by Dr. Jean Guest, CSA’s consultant dietitian; the CSA Gluten-Free Product Listing; the medical reference Recognizing Celiac Disease; a current issue of the CSA Lifeline membership newsletter; fact sheets, brochures, patient pamphlets and other CSA publications.

For more information about this opportunity or to get involved with fundraising and distribution, please contact the CSA at 1-877-CSA-4CSA, or visit CSA online at www.csaceliacs.org.

Celiac disease is the most common inherited autoimmune disease in the world. The National Institutes of Health estimates 1% of the United States population has celiac disease, making it more common than breast cancer, autism or type 1 diabetes. Of the 3 million people in the US who have celiac disease, less than 5% are diagnosed. Gluten sensitivity is estimated to affect many more people than celiac disease. Healthcare costs of untreated celiac disease are estimated to run $14.5 to $35 billion per year. The disorder is triggered by ingesting wheat, barley, rye or oats and results in inflammation, tissue damage, and malabsorption of nutrients leading to a host of varied symptoms. The treatment of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity is removing wheat, barley, rye and oats from the diet.

With almost 100,000 contacts, over 9,000 members and 125 local support group chapters across the country, the Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) is the largest member-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping individuals with celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis worldwide through education, information and research.

Dr. Joseph Murray of the Mayo Clinic explains his landmark study that tested blood samples from 50 years ago and compared them to people of the same ages today. The results: 1. Celiac disease is 5 times more prevalent than it was 50 years ago, 2. People with untreated celiac disease are 4 times more likely to die prematurely than the general population. This breaking information shows us that the rate of celiac disease is rising and people must be identified and diagnosed to insure good health. – John Libonati, Editor. Glutenfreeworks.com

(Editor’s Note: The author of the article reprinted below may have meant celiac disease when he wrote “gluten allergies.”)

Mayo research suggests gluten allergies more common
by Sea Stachura, Minnesota Public Radio
July 1, 2009

Rochester, Minn. — Celiac disease — an allergic reaction to gluten – is four times more common today than it was 50 years ago, according to research conducted at the Mayo Clinic.

Mayo gastroenterologist Joseph Murray says one in 100 people now have the disease.

He says doctors had thought the marked increase was a result of better screening, but the research suggests that celiac disease is truly becoming more common, paralleling other diseases like type one diabetes or allergies.

Murray says that suggests this could be an autoimmune response, or it could be that something has changed about gluten.

“When it’s not busy fighting infections in our environment it’s up to no good and turns on ourselves or create autoimmunity. That’s one theory,” he said. “Celiac disease is unusual in that we know the environmental trigger for the disease. You have to eat gluten, the protein from wheat, barley or rye to get the disease. So another possibility is that something changed about gluten.”

People with untreated celiac disease are also four times more likely to die earlier than people without the disease. Murray says people of all ages can develop the disease.

Source: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/06/30/mayo_gluten_allergies/

John and Cleo Libonati, the publishers of Glutenfreeworks.com and the highly recommended celiac disease reference, Recognizing Celiac Disease, are proud to bring you “Understanding Celiac Disease,” the continuing education article in the June edition of Today’s Dietitian Magazine.

Understanding Celiac Disease provides an overview of celiac disease with a concentration on the pathophysiology, symptoms, nutritional deficiencies responsible for gastrointestinal problems, steps for optimal treatment, and dietary sources of nutrients. This important information will help dietitians learn about celiac disease and how to help people get well.

“Recognizing Celiac Disease” is the acclaimed guide to recognizing, diagnosing and managing celiac disease. Recommended by medical experts and national celiac disease support organizations, it is used by healthcare providers and patients in 15 countries. www.recognizingceliacdisease.com

Today’s Dietitian is the only magazine written specifically for dietitians and nutrition professionals. With a readership of 110,000 Today’s Dietitian magazine is the leading news source for dietitians and nutritionists, covering topics such as diabetes management, long-term care, new products and technologies, career strategies, nutrition research updates, supplements, culinary arts, food allergies, fitness, sports medicine, and much more.
www.todaysdietitian.com

Dentists can be the first identifiers of celiac disease. Up to 89% of people with celiac disease exhibit dental enamel defects. Dental enamel defects are characterized by alteration in the hard, white, dense, inorganic substance covering the crowns of the teeth. These defects may include demarcated opacities (white spots), undersized teeth, yellowing, grooves and/or pitting on one or more permanent teeth.(1)

A study of 128 patients on a gluten-free diet revealed that changes in the permanent teeth may be the only sign of an otherwise symptomless celiac disease.(1) It should also be noted that calcium and vitamin D deficiencies are common in celiac disease. Deficiencies of these nutrients lead to cavities.

“Dentists mostly say it’s from fluoride, that the mother took tetracycline, or that there was an illness early on,” said Peter H.R. Green, M.D., director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. “Celiac disease isn’t on the radar screen of dentists in this country. Dentists should be made aware of these manifestations to help them identify Read More »

By Nancy Lapid, About.com Guide to Celiac Disease

Celiac disease has been a topic on not one but two TV shows in the past few days. I hardly watch television, so I’m fortunate to have learned about these episodes from a fellow blogger, the Gluten-Free Optimist.
First, the cable network BBC America’s reality show Last Restaurant Standing had an episode (#13) in which competing restauranteurs were required to come up with food for celiac guests (and other “tricky customers”) without advance warning. This episode will be replayed; the schedule is posted on the BBC America site. Read More »