<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
        Don Weiss posted a message a few weeks ago advising that the April
     issue of the journal Gastroenterology would contain an abstract on a
     study of the prevalence of Celiac Disease in the US based on
     endomysium antibodies present in donor blood.  I have been awaiting
     this journal eagarly and am pleased to report that the journal has
     finally made it this week to the shelves of my library.  You can find
     the abstract that Don wrote about on page A351.  (Please note that the
     abstracts are contained in a separate, supplemental April issue of the
     journal.)  The index contains a listing of abstracts by subject and I
     was surprised to find a number of other abstracts on the issue of
     Celiac Disease, many of which were instructive.  I recommend anyone
     with access to this journal (any medical library would have it) to
     take the time to read it.
 
        Our local support group is planning a mailing to local
     gastroenterologists and dermatologists using three of these abstracts.
     We plan to highlight the abstract on the prevalence of CD in the US
     as a way to encourage physicians to think of CD/DH as more common than
     they do now and, it is hoped, to increase their diagnosis of these
     diseases.  We will also include in the mailing (1) an abstract from
     Ireland on the prevalence of CD there which highlights the usefulness
     of serological markers for diagnosis of atypical CD (important because
     many physicians in this area have never used serological studies for
     diagnosis) (found on page A21), and (2) an abstract on the
     manifestations of incidentially discovered CD (page A318) to highlight
     the importance of careful endoscopic examination for the diagnosis of
     CD in patients without typical symptoms.
 
        All the abstract information will be contained in a single page to
     increase the likelihood that it will be read.  We will also include a
     second page in the mailing which will be in the form of a flyer,
     reminding physicians of the existence of our support group, giving the
     time and location of our regular meetings, and giving the name of our
     contact person for new patients (especially all those new patients
     that will be diagnosed because CD will be uppermost in their minds!!)
     I encourage all of you to do a mailing or perhaps some more innovative
     strategy to bring to the attention of US physicians this data on the
     likely very high prevalence of CD in the US.  Please share with the
     list the great ideas you come up with!