Health

Is a gluten-free diet right for you?

Chances are you know at least one person who's given up eating gluten. Maybe you've even given it up yourself. But who can really benefit from a gluten-free diet?

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Low-gluten beer still a risk for those with celiac disease, says study

Celiac disease (CD) sufferers could be persuaded to forego beer as research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) found that several purportedly low or reduced gluten beers contain equivalent or higher amounts of gluten proteins ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Getting through the holidays with celiac disease

As I prepared for my women's group Christmas cookie exchange, I realized how tough this season might be for someone with celiac disease. This condition can cause immense damage to the intestines when susceptible individuals ...

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Coeliac disease

Coeliac disease (pronounced /ˈsiːli.æk/), also spelled celiac disease, is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy on up. Symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, failure to thrive (in children), and fatigue, but these may be absent, and symptoms in other organ systems have been described. A growing portion of diagnoses are being made in asymptomatic persons as a result of increased screening.

Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to gliadin, a gluten protein found in wheat (and similar proteins of the tribe Triticeae, which includes other cultivars such as barley and rye). Upon exposure to gliadin, the enzyme tissue transglutaminase modifies the protein, and the immune system cross-reacts with the small-bowel tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. That leads to a truncating of the villi lining the small intestine (called villous atrophy). This interferes with the absorption of nutrients, because the intestinal villi are responsible for absorption. The only known effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. While the disease is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins, it is not the same as wheat allergy.

This condition has several other names, including: cœliac disease (with œ ligature), c(o)eliac sprue, non-tropical sprue, endemic sprue, gluten enteropathy or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, and gluten intolerance. The term coeliac derives from the Greek κοιλιακός (koiliakόs, "abdominal"), and was introduced in the 19th century in a translation of what is generally regarded as an ancient Greek description of the disease by Aretaeus of Cappadocia.

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