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Date: | Sat, 12 Aug 2000 21:08:57 -0400 |
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
A report in The Lancet, the distinguised British science journal is
titled "Celiac disease -- a future for peptide therapy?" which appeared
in Volume 356 (July 22, 2000). Scientists in Norway and the UK
separately have found it may be feasible to inhibit the disease by
blocking the specific HLA-binding process at work. However, more work
needs to be done, like identifying the relevant peptides that would
re-induce immunological tolerance to gluten. According to the report,
"this prcoess can be difficult and it has never been attempted in human
disease" and "must carry the risk of exacerbating, rather than
ameliorating intestinal abnormalities." The report goes to say that
although "it may be impossible simply to reinstate oral tolerance to
gluten"..."one way of getting round this difficulty" may be to pursue
the route taken by one of the two groups.
Don't get your hopes up yet, however, because the report goes on to say
that this group's work leaves "several questions unanswered. The most
important is whether the work has truly identified the primary epitope
that induces celiac disease in all patients."
On the other hand, it's nice to know there are several groups of
researchers working on celiac disease. That alone is cause for hope.
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