This 21 year-old woman (right) appears as old as her 70 year-old grandmother (left). Courtesy Prof Dr Chua Chung Nen
What Is Acquired Cutis Laxa?
A cquired cutis laxa is an uncommon skin disorder characterized by abnormal reduction and degeneration of elastic fibers of the skin that can appear simply as thick, saggy skin with loose folds to severe involvement showing a premature aged appearance.
Q: What are elastic fibers of the skin?
A: Elastic fibers of the skin are connective tissue found in the dermis, which is the layer of skin under the epidermis, or surface layer. They hold the shape of skin and are important for wound healing in the development of scars.
What Is Cutis Laxa In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
What Is Vitiligo? V itiligo is a pigmentation disorder of the skin characterized by permanent loss of melanocytes in defined areas and, in some patients, antibodies to melanin. Vitiligo has significant psychological impact if occurring before…
Baby with Allergic Reaction to Peanuts. GFW photo.
What Is Food Allergy?
Food allergy is an abnormal immune response to food proteins that may damage the small intestinal lining and produce malabsorption of food. The reaction is usually delayed which makes it difficult to identify the offending food that is causing symptoms.
Q: How does food allergy develop?
A: The gastrointestinal tract serves not only to digest and absorb foodstuffs but also to protect the body from unwanted substances. When allergic food substances are eaten, the immune response that is triggered in the gut produces inflammation with symptoms such as pain, vomiting and loose bowels.
Inflammation causes swelling of the gut lining that can interfere with the passage of nutrients through it to the body which results in malabsorption. Malabsorption deprives the body of nutrients needed for normal function.
Symptoms other than digestive may involve skin rashes, hives, and respiratory difficulties that can be distressing and life-threatening.
What Is Food Allergy In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Drawing of Biopsy Showing Muscle Fibers Invaded by Immune Cells. Courtesy MDA.org
What Is Polymyositis?
P olymyositis is a body-wide connective tissue disease resulting from autoimmune attack of skeletal muscles that is characterized by inflammatory and degeneratory changes. The course is unpredictable being marked by spontaneous flare-ups and remissions.
Polymyositis can begin slowly or abruptly according to the factor that is triggering the onset such as infection, medications like phenytoin, and autoimmune disease.
Progressive muscle weakness starts in the proximal skeletal muscles (muscles closest to the trunk of the body).
Skeletal muscles, also called voluntary, are muscles that move the body as we want, such as walking and lifting objects, as opposed to those we cannot voluntarily control, such as the muscles of digestion.
Q: What are the degeneratory changes in skeletal muscles?
A: In polymyositis, degeneratory changes in skeletal muscles means that muscles are being destroyed (called necrosis), resulting in fibrosis, or scarring. When scar tissue takes the place of lost muscle tissue, it cannot act like muscle to contract and relax. Muscle destruction is what causes muscle pain and weakness.
After the clinical work-up of exams and blood studies to determine muscle damage, the diagnosis of polymyositis is confirmed by muscle biopsy. See image at above left. The black dots are inflammatory cells. Edema (fluid) between cells caused by inflammation pushes muscle fibers apart.
There is no cure for polymyositis, but the symptoms can be treated. Options include medication, physical therapy, exercise, heat therapy (including microwave and ultrasound), orthotics and assistive devices, and rest. The standard treatment for polymyositis is a corticosteroid drug, given either in pill form or intravenously. Immunosuppressant drugs, such as azathioprine and methotrexate, may reduce inflammation in people who do not respond well to prednisone.
Periodic treatment using intravenous immunoglobulin can also improve recovery. Other immunosuppressive agents used to treat the inflammation associated with polymyositis include cyclosporine A, cyclophosphamide, and tacrolimus. Physical therapy is usually recommended to prevent muscle atrophy and to regain muscle strength and range of motion.1
Diagnosis is based on elevated muscles enzymes, increased urinary creatine level, and electromyograph abnormalities.
Polymyositis can affect people at any age. It is most common in adults between ages 50 and 70, and in children ages 5 to 15. It affects women twice as often as men and is more common in African Americans than Caucasians.2 The major causes of death from polymyositis are cancer and lung disease, including pneumonia. The 5-year mortality rate can be as high as 1 in 5 patients.2
What Is Polymyositis In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [↩]
We teach children this common thinking almost from the time they can speak. It makes sense. The food that you put in your mouth, chew and swallow becomes the person you are.
Most people believe it. So do most doctors.
Well, it may sound logical but it is only partially correct and based on a very iffy assumption.
The assumption is that your body absorbs what you eat.
Glutenfreeworks.com has pressed the truth, namely that you are actually what you eat and absorb. If something like celiac disease is stopping you from absorbing properly, then you are NOT what you eat.
In this important three minute video, Neil Raff, MD concisely explains how what you absorb is just as important as what you put in your mouth. Dr Raff covers the various ways nutrient absorption can be affected and limited. He also touches on a related topic – foods today do not contain the nutrients they provided in the past.
Kudos to Dr. Raff for covering this important topic in this quick and easy-to-understand must-see presentation.
Over 3 million people in the United States have undiagnosed
F ine hair (lower diameter across the width) with rough texture is an abnormal hair shaft feature altered from the normal diameter and smooth quality of hair.
Q: What is the normal diameter and smooth quality of hair?
A: Although hair may appear to be a simple structure, it is actually a complex part of the anatomy whose biology is only partially understood. Hair grows from small organs (follicles) located within the complex microenvironment of the skin which has multiple layers of tissue, three glands whose secretions bathe hair, and multiple vascular systems.1
An individual hair is a thread-like shaft made up of cornified cells. It consists of the outermost layer, or cuticle, the cortex which is a horny component, and the medulla which is the central part.
Hairs receive nourishment from capillaries via the papilla at the base of their follicles (roots). Since the number of hair follicles are determined at birth, it is important to properly nourish them so they remain healthy.
What Is Fine Hair with Rough Texture In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
Sources:
Harkey MR. Anatomy and physiology of hair. Forensic Sci Int. 1993 Dec;63(1-3):9-18. [↩]
A ngina pectoris, or simply angina, is a coronary syndrome characterized by an oppressive substernal pain (pain under breastbone) or pressure brought on by exertion and relieved by rest that results from failure of coronary arteries to deliver adequate oxygen to heart tissue due to ischemic heart disease.
Q: Why do coronary arteries fail to deliver adequate oxygen to heart tissue?
A: Coronary arteries are the blood vessels that serve the heart. In angina, these vessels fail to deliver adequate oxygen to heart tissue because they are narrowed or blocked by fatty buildups, called atherosclerotic plaques or by a blood clot which impair their ability to carry adequate blood that carries the oxygen. Diseased coronary arteries cannot deliver adequate oxygenated blood pumped by the heart to its own muscle cells.
The heart is a muscular organ that is working all the time without rest, so it needs a constant supply of oxygen. When heart muscle has to work harder, it needs more oxygen. Lack of oxygen causes pain which makes the affected person stop activity and rest.
Angina can be stable or unstable. Unstable angina is much more serious and can be life-threatening.
Stable angina produces predictable pain and responds to rest and/or medication. It is less serious than unstable angina but can be very painful or uncomfortable. Anything that makes the heart muscle need more oxygen can cause an angina attack in someone with heart disease, including: smoking, cold weather, exercise, emotional stress, obesity, and large meals. Other causes of angina include: abnormal heart rhythms (usually ones that cause the heart to beat quickly), anemia, coronary artery spasm, heart failure, heart valve disease, and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid).1
Unstable angina produces unpredictable pain that may occur at rest, lasting more than 20 minutes. It is more severe than stable angina and less responsive to medication. Atherosclerosis is by far the most common cause of unstable angina. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein, so-called bad cholesterol, and oxysterols play an important role in atherogenesis, the development of atherosclerosis. Coronary arteries that are narrowed by atherosclerotic plaques can rupture causing injury to the coronary blood vessel resulting in blood clotting which blocks the flow of blood to the heart muscle. Blood clots may form, partially dissolve, and later form again and angina can occur each time a clot blocks blood flow in an artery. People with unstable angina are at increased risk of having a heart attack.2
What Is Angina In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
C achexia is a state of ill health involving deteriorating body composition that is characterized by general malnutrition and loss of lean tissue such as muscle.
Q: What are typical findings in cachexia?
A: Arm muscle triceps (the muscles at the back of the upper arm), skin folds, subscapular skin folds, fat area index, and bone mineral content are significantly lower than normal.
Cachexia may develop in protein-losing enteropathy such as celiac disease, chronic or severe infection such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, or many chronic diseases such as heart failure and cancer.
Cachexia can develop in persons of any age.
What Is Cachexia In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?
