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

Robin wrote:

> One person suggested that I have the baby's cord blood checked for
> HLA type so that I'll know if the baby has CD.

This sounds like a good suggestion to me, but I do want to comment on
this.  HLA typing will NOT tell you if you have Celiac Disease (CD).
What it will tell you is whether or not you have the genes that are
almost always associated with CD.

Here are some excerpts from the CEL-HLA reference file:

--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--
Q.  Can genetics testing determine if my sibling will get Celiac
Disease?

No, but it can give you a great deal of insight into the probability of
developing Celiac Disease.  If your sibling does not have the HLA
markers associated with CD, it is extremely unlikely that he/she will
ever develop the disorder.  However, if he/she does have these markers,
there is currently no way of predicting whether or not the disorder will
eventually develop.  It is known that the risk of CD is vastly increased
(about 50-100 times more likely than in the general population) in these
siblings...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q.  How common are the Celiac-related HLA markers in the general
population?  In other words, how specific to Celiac Disease are the
Celiac-related HLA markers?

We will go into more detail soon, but generally speaking, about 25-30%
of the general population of European extraction has these particular
HLA markers.  These same markers are found in more than 95% of all
Celiacs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q.  If HLA testing only shows tendencies, why bother doing it at all?

This is an excellent question.  Many gastroenterologists do not
recommend HLA typing of the family members of a Celiac.  The
following are the reasons that one might do it anyway:

a) Excluding CD as possibility...
b) Necessity of serology re-testing...
c) Attention to at-risk siblings...
--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--

Clearly there must be other factors related to CD, both genetic and
environmental, if 25-30% of the population have these HLA markers, but
far fewer than 1% actually have CD.

To find out more, read the CEL-HLA reference file at one of these
web pages:

   http://rdz.stjohns.edu/lists/celiac/cel-hla.html
   http://www.fastlane.net/homepages/thodge/cel-hla

or you can have a copy sent to you by e-mail.  To do so, send a message
to [log in to unmask] containing this line:

   GET CELIAC CEL-HLA

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