Celiac Disease

Introduction: Celiac Disease

A genetic digestive intolerance to gluten in the diet caused by damage to the intestinal villi with an underlying autoimmune cause. Celiac is believed to be one of the most under-diagnosed and thus misdiagnosed conditions in America. Although the diagnosis rate is about 1 in 5000, the actual estimated prevalence may be as high as 1 in 250. Celiac disease is poorly understood by many American doctors, and may be misdiagnosed as various other digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Symptoms of Celiac Disease

• Digestive symptoms - some people will notice digestive symptoms such as:
  • Diarrhea
  • Abdominal pain
  • Abdominal bloating
  • Pale stool

See full list of 35 symptoms of Celiac Disease

Medical Textbooks Online about Celiac Disease

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Celiac Disease

• Gluten antibodies
• Antigliadin antibody test
• Anti-endomysium antibody test
• Antireticulin antibody test
• Small intestine biopsy

See full list of 6 diagnostic tests for Celiac Disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Celiac Disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Celiac Disease
• Failure to diagnose Celiac Disease
• Underlying causes of Celiac Disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Celiac Disease

Misdiagnosis and Celiac Disease

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The...more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety of symptoms (see symptoms of celiac disease). A...more »

Undiagnosed celiac disease in pregnancy harms fetus: The failure to diagnose the common but less known digestive disease celiac disease (see symptoms of celiac disease) is linked to adverse fetal...more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known possibilities are ...more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Celiac Disease

Causes of Celiac Disease

Read more about causes of Celiac Disease.

More information about causes of Celiac Disease:

• Triggers for Celiac Disease
• Celiac Disease as a complication caused by other conditions
• Celiac Disease as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Celiac Disease

Treatments for Celiac Disease

• Gluten-free diet - avoiding various foods including wheat, rye, barley, and oats.
• Vitamin supplements
• Mineral supplements
• Intravenous nutrition supplements - for severe cases not responding to the gluten-free diet.
• Copper - possibly used for related copper deficiency

See full list of 6 treatments for Celiac Disease

Videos for Celiac Disease

Patient Surveys for Celiac Disease

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Celiac Disease
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Reseach about Celiac Disease

Visit our research pages for current research about Celiac Disease treatments.

Clinical Trials for Celiac Disease

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Celiac Disease include:

• Gluten-Free Diet in Patients With Gluten Sensitivity and Cerebellar Ataxia - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Multicenter Study on the Toxicity of Gluten Traces in the Treatment of Celiac Disease - This study has been terminated (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Citrulline: A Plasmatic Marker to Assess and Monitor Small Bowel Crohn's Disease Patients - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Can a Very High Result From a Screening Test for Celiac Disease Be Used to Diagnose Celiac Disease? - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Safety and Tolerability Study of AT1001 in Celiac Disease Subjects. - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - AT1001

See full list of 6 Clinical Trials for Celiac Disease

Prevention of Celiac Disease

Prevention information for Celiac Disease has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Celiac Disease.

• Vitamin B12 - possibly used for prevention of Vitamin B12 deficiency

Read more about prevention of Celiac Disease

Statistics for Celiac Disease

• Medical statistics for Celiac Disease
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Celiac Disease
• Death and Mortality statistics for Celiac Disease
• Society statistics for Celiac Disease

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Celiac Disease

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Celiac Disease

See all guides and ebooks for Celiac Disease

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Celiac Disease, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. Specifically, tiny fingerlike protrusions, called villi, on the lining of the small intestine are lost. Nutrients from food are absorbed into the bloodstream through these villi. Without villi, a person becomes malnourished--regardless of the quantity of food eaten.

Because the body's own immune system causes the damage, celiac disease is considered an autoimmune disorder. However, it is also classified as a disease of malabsorption because nutrients are not absorbed. Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. (Source: excerpt from Celiac Disease: NIDDK)

Wiki article about Celiac Disease

See full article about Celiac Disease

Definitions of Celiac Disease:

A malabsorption syndrome that is precipitated by the ingestion of GLUTEN-containing foods, such as wheat, rye, and barley. It is characterized by INFLAMMATION of the SMALL INTESTINE, loss of MICROVILLI structure, failed INTESTINAL ABSORPTION, and MALNUTRITION. - (Source - Diseases Database)

A disorder in children and adults; inability to tolerate wheat protein (gluten); symptoms include foul-smelling diarrhea and emaciation; often accompanied by lactose intolerance - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Celiac Disease as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet