<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> N>If the skin symptoms suggest DH, the diagnosis is based on two tests: N>1. Skin biopsy: immunofluorescent staining - linear deposits of IgA. N>2. Serology test: positive antiendomysium antibody test. N>As a compromise: the positive serology and the typical skin symptoms N>are enough for a clinical diagnosis. However, I think most of the N>dermatologist consider the biopsy as "gold standard" for the diagnosis. N>It seems that dermatologist needs some education regarding the DH N>diagnosis ("gluten-sensitive dermatopathy"; this is only my terminology) My dermatologist suggested Celiac Disease before my gastroenterologist and diagnosed my skin condition immediately as probably Dermatitis Herpetiformis.He put me on DAPSONE and explained all the ramifications of Celiac Disease. My gastroenterologist had given me all sorts of gut identification-IBM, etc. He was pretty steamed at my dermatologist for setting the situation straight. However, the gastroenterologist did do a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of Celiac Disease. Up until then, I had thought temperaments were confined to the theater of operations in music and drama, not medicine. It would probably have been amusing had I not suffered years of discomfort. AMS