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I read through the "Trends from Tampere" published by the the Tri-County
Celiac Sprue Support Group.  Thank you so much for providing this information
on the "Seventh International Symposium on Coeliac Disease" which was held in
Tampere, Finland.

I found most interesting the comments on the Oats study in Italy ("Oats
Prolamines In Vitro Activate Intestinal Cell-Mediated Immunity in Coeliac
Disease" N Leone, G Mazzarella, et al) which mentioned taking biopsy samples
from *treated* celiacs and culturing them for 24 hours alone, or in the
presence of wheat gliadin or oat prolamines.  There was an increase in
lymphocytes in the samples which were cultured in the gliadin and the
prolamines.  The study concluded "that these results suggest that oat
prolamines [and wheat gliadin] are able to activate a T-cell medicated
mucosal immune systems response in the jejunum of celiacs" who had already
been on gluten free diet.

This being the case, I would assume that *someday*, people on a gluten free
diet who have not been diagnosed (because of starting the diet prior to
having the biopsy), might be able to obtain a diagnosis of celiac disease by
having such tests done on their biopsy samples to determine if there is such
a T-cell response.

Does anyone know if there are any studies that show that such an increase in
lymphocytes does not occur in people without celiac?

Also, does anyone know if there is a way to get a copy of this study?  Was
anything published yet?  How can a get a hold of it?  Thanks.
---
Abigail
St Paul, Minnesota

"To be nobody but myself in a world which is doing its best night and day to
make me everybody else, is to fight the hardest battle which any human being
can fight and never stop fighting."  e e cummings