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I'm a recent subscriber to the Celiac-Diabetes list-serve.  My name is
Sara Jones and I live in Houston, Texas.  I worked with Janet Rinehart,
back in the 80s  to establish the Houston Celiac-Sprue Support Group, a
chapter of CSA/USA, Inc.  I also have the IDDM and Celiac Disease
connection and have been working with Lynn Samuel and with Janet Rinehart,
among others, to have a questionnaire approved that would provide the
format for Celiacs with  Diabetes to share coping strategies.  I am
totally void of any medical training so please accept that any comments I
submit are strictly personal thoughts and opinions derived from
experiences, from lecturers, and from materials read over the years.  I
work for a NASA subcontractor in the Houston area in an administrative
support capacity (the fun of budgets and project cost analysis!).

I've managed to trace CS as well as Types I and II  Diabetes to other
family members, reinforcing for me the hereditary involvement of all three
problems.  I am, however, among those that are of the opinion that only
Type I (IDDM) Diabetes and CS are genetically related while the Type II
Diabetes and CS connection is not a genetic association even though they
are both hereditary disorders.  I do believe that individuals trying to
juggle Diabetes and CS together in their lives, regardless of whether it
is Type I or Type II Diabetes, are met with many of the same challenges
and complications....that, maybe, the differences are often only varying
shades of gray.

On the subject of the IDDM and Celiac Disease connection I would like to
mention some easy-to-read and recent articles to Cynthia in Boston and to
Jason Latronica (I've stumbled across others but I just happen to have
details with me at the office on the following):

 1) Wheat's Your Problem, in the August 1996 edition of Diabetes Forecast
 magazine. The article is by Jean Guest, RD, CNSD, and the magazine  is a
 publication of the American Diabetes Association.

 2) articles by Kemp Randolph and Katie Marschilok on the subject of the
 genetic connection of IDDM and Celiac Disease published in the
 January/February 1996 edition of the Gluten-Free Living newsletter, Ann
 Whelan, Editor (P.O. Box 3836, Merrifield, VA 22116-3837).

 3) Celiac Sprue and You, a very recent article published in the Diabetes
 Wellness Letter, Vol.4, No.8 (August '98  edition I believe it would be).
 I'm afraid I took the original newletter home and don't have the name and
 address of the publication's editor with me.

I'm sure others within the List-serve could recommend additional articles
that Cynthia and Jason, among others, would find informative and helpful.

Sara Jones
Houston Celiac Sprue Support Group, Houston, Texas
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