<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

In a message dated 1/3/2001 7:31:35 PM Mountain Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Do you have any information as to why celiac and diabetes are often
> diagnosed together?

They are both autoimmune diseases (like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other
diseases).  With diabetes, something (current thinking is that in many cases
it is a retrovirus) triggers the body's immune system to atttack the insulin
producing beta cells in the pancreas.  I don't know a lot about the
autoimmune response connected with celiac, other than it's primarily the
small intestine where the damage is done since that's where most of the
gluten proteins are in the body . . .

In my daughter's case (where she's only recently been showing celiac symptoms
and was also recently diagnosed with diabetes), it's is likely that whatever
triggered one, triggered the other -- but this isn't necessarily the usual
case . . . so far, every one I've heard from that has both, had the diabetes
dx'd first and the celiac dx'd anywhere from a few years to a few decades
later . . .

HTH
Lyndy