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Further to my questions about zonulin, I have emailed Alessio Fasano (Alba 
Therapeutics) and he has responded as follows:

QUESTIONS:

The new zonulin-regulating drug, AT-1001 is undergoing further trials and 
has so far reported to be successful and without severe adverse side 
effects.  I have searched all over their site at 
http://www.albatherapeutics.com and have not been able to find the answer to 
my question:

1)  Is the drug intended to be taken on a regular daily basis ?
or only occasionally, such as when eating in a questionable restaurant...

ANSWER:
It is really up to the patient how to eventually use the drug.  Alba is 
running clinical trials aimed at using the zonulin inhibitor on a regular 
basis and with each meal.  However, people may want to use the drug only as 
a "safety net" when they are not completely in control with the food they 
eat (business trips, vacations, on a flight, eating out to restaurants or to 
friend/family household not really familiar with the gluten free diet, going 
to college, etc).

2)  Does the drug block all absorption, e.g. will it block the absorption of 
important nutrients as well as gluten molecules, or just the gluten 
molecules  ?

ANSWER:
No it does not. The drug blocks the "leakiness" in between cells, while 
nutrients are absorbed through the cells. Gluten being a big molecule should 
not be absorbed before beiong dismatled in its single elements (called amino 
acids) that then can be absorbed as nutrients.  So the drug is intended to 
block the inappropriate passage of large molecules, leaving nutrients 
absorption untouched.


Janice. 

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