| Celiac disease, or celiac sprue, officially known as | | | | symptom (maybe just anemia, or feeling run down, |
| "gluten intolerant enteropathy" is a genetic | | | | or behavioral problems) or they may have several. |
| auto-immune disorder, this means that a gene carries | | | | That said, here is a list of possible symptoms which |
| a physical trait, and that trait can be passed down | | | | can include short term symptoms such as: diarrhea, |
| from one family member to another. | | | | constipation, steatorrhea (fatty stools that float |
| "Auto-immune" describes the way that the disease | | | | rather than sink), abdominal pain, excessive gas, |
| does damage; "auto" means "to oneself" so it is | | | | fuzzy-mindedness after gluten ingestion, burning |
| saying that the immune system of a celiac mistakenly | | | | sensations in the throat, irritability, inability to |
| does damage to the celiac rather than to the | | | | concentrate, pale, malodorous, bulky stools, frequent, |
| supposed invader. What happens is that the immune | | | | foamy diarrhea, and an itchy rash (in dermatitis |
| system believes that a portion of the food eaten | | | | herpetiformis). |
| needs to be attacked, and as a side-effect of the | | | | Longer term symptoms can include: any problem |
| attack, the lining of the small intestine gets damaged. | | | | associated with vitamin deficiencies such as; iron |
| It appears as though the gene for celiac disease may | | | | deficiency (anemia), chronic fatigue, weakness, |
| ride on the same gene as diabetes, and like diabetes, | | | | weight loss, bone pain, easily fractured bones, |
| you can carry the gene but not have the disease. It | | | | abnormal or impaired skin sensation (paresthesia), |
| takes some "triggering event" to start up the | | | | including burning, prickling, itching or tingling, and |
| process (little is known about this mechanism, but | | | | edema, as well as, white flecks on the fingernails, |
| suspected "events" include physical or emotional | | | | failure to thrive (in infants and children), paleness, |
| stress, pregnancy, over-exposure to wheat, other | | | | wasted buttocks, pot belly with or without painful |
| diseases, and even antibiotics); and, of course, the | | | | bloating, and persistent itchy rashes (in dermatitis |
| celiac must be exposed to wheat in the first place. | | | | herpetiformis). |
| Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is another form of | | | | Celiacs who are not following a gluten-free diet will |
| celiac disease. Anyone who has DH is a celiac. In this | | | | suffer from damage to the lining of their small |
| form of the disease, lesions that look like a herpes | | | | intestines (specifically, to the "villi" the little hair-like |
| sore appear on the skin, usually in very symmetrical | | | | growth that helps process food in the small intestine). |
| ways: on the hands, arms, head, elbows, knees, | | | | This damage slows and even prevents the digestion |
| buttocks, etc. They are often extremely itchy. | | | | of food, which can lead to malnutrition (anemia, |
| (Please note that the name of this disease is | | | | osteoporosis, vitamin deficiencies, and more). |
| misleading, it has absolutely nothing to do with | | | | Over the long term, the constant damage to the |
| herpes. | | | | small intestine can cause enough wear to lead to |
| A very common wheat allergy happens when your | | | | intestinal cancers. In the short run, many annoying |
| body sees wheat as an invader and attacks it. | | | | symptoms can also make life downright |
| Symptoms of a wheat allergy could be eczema | | | | uncomfortable. Following a gluten-free diet reduces |
| (different from dermatitis herpetiformis), sneezing, | | | | the risk of cancer down to that of the general |
| increased acne, or if you have a very serious allergy | | | | population, and will improve digestion enough to |
| to wheat, you might have an anaphylactic reaction in | | | | sustain the body normally, as well as getting rid of |
| which your throat can swell up to the point where | | | | the usual short-term side effects. |
| you can no longer breath. However, these are not | | | | The primary indicator test for celiac disease involves |
| typical symptoms of celiac disease. | | | | three biopsies (one before going on a gluten-free |
| The main effect of celiac disease is the damage that | | | | diet, showing damage to the villi; one during a |
| is done to the small intestine; if you have symptoms | | | | gluten-free diet, showing healed villi; one after going |
| that are caused by damage to the small intestine (for | | | | back to eating gluten, again showing damage), but |
| example, flattened villi as seen in a biopsy, or any | | | | many knowledgeable physicians now accept one |
| form of malnutrition that is caused by the damaged | | | | biopsy, an antibody blood test, and improvement of |
| villi) then what you have is not a wheat allergy, but | | | | symptoms while on a gluten-free diet (the biopsy |
| rather celiac disease. | | | | showing damage to the villi prior to a gluten-free diet; |
| Traditionally, experts have seen very few people | | | | the antibody test showing elevated antibodies to |
| with a simple "wheat allergy", and many more with | | | | gluten while still eating a gluten-filled diet). A less |
| celiac disease, so many experts predict that celiac | | | | formal diagnostic process would just involve the |
| disease is more common than wheat allergies. If you | | | | blood tests, and improvement on a gluten-free diet. |
| have problems with wheat, you should visit with a | | | | It should be noted that the blood tests look for |
| gastroenterologist and get tested for celiac disease. | | | | elevated IgA antibodies as an immune response to |
| Unfortunately, at this time, there is no cure, and no | | | | gluten, but a fair percentage of people with celiac |
| hope for a cure any time soon. Once the disease has | | | | disease are IgA deficient, and so their tests would |
| been triggered there is no way to turn it off, though | | | | give a false negative. There is another test now |
| in the far future there might be hope for gene | | | | being manufactured (Tissue Transglutaminase Testing |
| therapies or other mechanisms which might work; | | | | or tTG) which looks at IgG antibodies, instead of IgA |
| none of these are likely in the near future. However, | | | | antibodies, that is proving very reliable for diagnosing |
| while there is no actual cure, a gluten-free diet solves | | | | celiac disease. |
| most of the problems associated with the disease. | | | | Although the disease itself has been around for quite |
| "Gluten-free" is another slight misnomer, since it's | | | | some time, it gets the name "sprue" from the |
| probable that "gluten" isn't the problem, and it | | | | similarity of symptoms to "tropical sprue" which is an |
| certainly isn't the whole problem, however this term | | | | older known disease, the cause of the disease was |
| has come to represent the celiac diet and so we | | | | not recognized until the middle of this century, when |
| define what we eat, or what we don't eat, by this | | | | war-time limited supplies of wheat to local |
| term. A gluten-free diet just means strict avoidance | | | | populations, and a physician noticed after the war, |
| of wheat, rye, barley and oats, even in the tiniest of | | | | that several of his "sprue" patients who had |
| amounts. This is more easily said than done, but once | | | | improved during the war, were now ill again. It was |
| one becomes familiar with the diet it becomes | | | | not long before he realized that wheat was the |
| routine. | | | | culprit. |
| According to experts, celiac disease is known as | | | | From that point, continued investigation added rye, |
| "The Great Mimic" because patients who ultimately | | | | barley, and oats to the list of grains that made celiac |
| end up diagnosed with the disease come to the | | | | sprue patients sick. Still, for quite a while it was |
| doctor's office with such a wide variety of | | | | thought of as a childhood disease that would be |
| symptoms that it can be very hard to diagnose. | | | | outgrown, so it was not that long ago that the |
| What this means is that there is no typical set of | | | | medical community recognized that adults suffered |
| symptoms. There is a classic set of symptoms | | | | from the disease as well. Until very recently, it was |
| (diarrhea, thinness, malnutrition, pot belly) that is | | | | thought of as a "rare" disease in the United States, |
| associated with the disease, but classic is not the | | | | and most medical practitioners are still unaware of |
| same as typical. People with celiac disease who are | | | | the growing evidence that celiac disease is actually |
| not following a gluten-free diet may have just one | | | | quite common. |