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

[All this great stuff from KIT.]
CELIAC DISEASE
Organ-Specific Autoantibodies Linked to Dietary Gluten in Celiac Disease
Patients
WESTPORT, Sep 07 (Reuters Health) - Patients with celiac disease have
high levels of diabetes- and thyroid-related autoantibodies that
"disappear" when the patients are placed on a gluten-free diet.
        The finding confirms the high prevalence of organ-specific
autoantibodies in patients with celiac disease, and supports the theory
that these antibodies are gluten-dependent, Dr. Alessandro Ventura, of
the Universita di Trieste, Italy, and colleagues say in the August issue
of the Journal of Pediatrics.
        The investigators tested 90 children with celiac disease for serum
antibodies to islet cells, glutamic acid decarboxylase, insulin, and
thyroperoxidase. The overall prevalence of diabetes- and thyroid-related
autoantibodies was 11.1% and 14.4%, respectively.
        Prior studies have suggested that the presence of organ-specific
autoantibodies in patients with celiac disease is "related to the
presence of a second autoimmune disease." However, the fact that serum
organ-specific autoantibodies tended to disappear in the current study
when patients were placed on a gluten-free diet supports the position
that these antibodies are at least partly gluten-dependent.
        "A gluten-free diet started early may prevent the other autoimmune
diseases frequently associated with celiac disease," Dr. Ventura and
colleagues hypothesize. However, further studies will be needed to
determine the clinical significance of the organ-specific autoantibodies
in these patients and to confirm this hypothesis.
J Pediatr 2000;137:263-265.

Information from Mary Shomon:

CELIAC/AUTOIMMUNE THYROID DISEASE CONNECTION: A CURE FOR AUTOIMMUNE
THYROID PROBLEMS?

The medical journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences has recently reported
that a significant number of people who have autoimmune thyroid disease
also have a condition known as celiac disease. Celiac disease causes the
intestines to react abnormally to a substance called gluten. Gluten is a
protein found in wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, and other
related grains. Celiac disease is also sometimes called celiac sprue,
sprue, or gluten intolerance. If you have celiac disease, your body may
have difficulty absorbing nutrients from foods, leaving you malnourished,
or deficient in key nutrients and vitamins. Celiac disease symptoms
include various intestinal difficulties, recurring abdominal bloating and
pain, nausea, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and other
problems. The key news out of this research for thyroid patients is that
researchers found that organ-specific autoantibodies (i.e., thyroid
antibodies) can disappear after 3 to 6 months of a gluten-free diet.
Don't rush right out and start on a gluten-free diet, however. You should
have a blood test while eating your *regular* diet, and if you are
positive, THEN go on the gluten-free diet to confirm the test results and
diagnosis. For the percentage of people with autoimmune hypothyroidism
who have celiac disease, diagnosis and a gluten-free diet may represent a
permanent cure for their hypothyroidism. A detailed article, along with
references and more information on celiac disease and the gluten-free
diet, is located in an article at my website.

http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa040700a.htm

In persons with celiac disease, ingestion of gluten increases prolactin
production. Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl 1998;228:122-9

Coeliac disease: always something to discover.
Varkonyi A, Boda M, Endreffy E, Nemeth I, Timar E
Dept. of Paediatrics, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Medical University, Szeged,
Hungary.

The authors present more than 20 years' experience with coeliac disease,
with a summary of their published studies. Hair shaft characteristics
were determined by scanning electron microscopy. Hair diameter was
significantly lower and cuticular erosion scores higher in those who were
not on gluten-free diets as compared to controls, showing a tendency
towards normal values following start of gluten-free diets.
Proton-induced X-ray emission showed significantly lower zinc content of
the hair shaft in the group with acute coeliac disease and after a
short-term diet, which approached the normal range only after a year-long
diet. The serum prolactin levels in healthy controls and in coeliac
patients on the diet were within normal limits, whereas in children with
coeliac disease taking gluten in their meals, a significant
hyperprolactinaemia was found. The erythrocyte glutathione content of
coeliac children was elevated, and the glutathione disulfide level was
significantly decreased, as compared to values in normal controls. The
erythrocyte glutathione disulfide level and glutathione
disulfide/erythrocyte glutathione ratio in coeliac children also differed
from those in children with iron deficiency. With genotyping, the
DQB1*0201/2 (p < 0.00001) and DR3 (p < 0.00001), DR7 (p < 0.01) alleles
showed significant positive association with the disease.
CELIAC DISEASE AND VITAMIN D

From the Nutrition Almanac (4th Ed. pg. 83): "Celiac disease is
indirectly related to a vitamin D deficiency resulting from structural
damage and unabsorbed fats and calcium salts and vitamin D that are
flushed out in the stool."
        Organ-Specific Autoantibodies Linked to Dietary Gluten in Celiac Disease
Patients
WESTPORT, Sep 07, 2000 (Reuters Health) - Patients with celiac disease
have high levels of diabetes- and thyroid-related autoantibodies that
"disappear" when the patients are placed on a gluten-free diet.
        The finding confirms the high prevalence of organ-specific
autoantibodies in patients with celiac disease, and supports the theory
that these antibodies are gluten-dependent, Dr. Alessandro Ventura, of
the Universita di Trieste, Italy, and colleagues say in the August issue
of the Journal of Pediatrics.
        The investigators tested 90 children with celiac disease for serum
antibodies to islet cells, glutamic acid decarboxylase, insulin, and
thyroperoxidase. The overall prevalence of diabetes- and thyroid-related
autoantibodies was 11.1% and 14.4%, respectively.
        Prior studies have suggested that the presence of organ-specific
autoantibodies in patients with celiac disease is "related to the
presence of a second autoimmune disease." However, the fact that serum
organ-specific autoantibodies tended to disappear in the current study
when patients were placed on a gluten-free diet supports the position
that these antibodies are at least partly gluten-dependent.
        "A gluten-free diet started early may prevent the other autoimmune
diseases frequently associated with celiac disease," Dr. Ventura and
colleagues hypothesize. However, further studies will be needed to
determine the clinical significance of the organ-specific autoantibodies
in these patients and to confirm this hypothesis.
J Pediatr 2000;137:263-265.
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