<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
Debbie Fusco <dfusco @ HACH.COM> said, as part of her excellent summary
of replies to her question on keeping an infant GF:
 
D>From what I've
D>read, if you are genetically predisposed to CD, you will probably get it
D>someday. We just don't know when because we don't know what will trigger it.
 
My understanding is not entirely consistent with this.  As far as we have
seen from the cel-pro experts, the current state of the art in genetics
research on Celiac is pretty much limited to HLA typing.  If you new baby
shares the same HLA markers as your celiac child, the probability for the
baby to eventually manifest CD is somewhere in the 30-40% range (the
following is quoted from the file available at [log in to unmask] by
sending the command GET CEL-HLA ):
 
H>Q.  What are the basic statistics on the increased risk of Celiac
H>Disease among the various relatives of a diagnosed celiac?
H>
H>The overall familial prevalence of Celiac Disease is approximately
H>10% in first degree relatives of a diagnosed celiac.  First degree
H>relatives include the parents, siblings, and children.  ..  (The
H>closer the relationship of the affected person, the higher the risk.)
H>The term "concordance" below refers to how often CD is found amongst
H>two people with a specified relationship.  The highest concordance is
H>amongst identical twins (70%), HLA identical siblings (30-40%) and
H>siblings sharing just one DR3 marker (20-30%), with other non-HLA
H>identical siblings much lower (0-10%).  The rates differ
H>depending on which genetic study one refers to.
 
Debbie also said:
 
D>Breastmilk - one person wrote that her baby was sensitive to the gluten which
D>came over in her breastmilk.  This was new to me.  I've been eating gluten
D>while breastfeeding.  ... Also, if gluten can be in
D>breastmilk, wouldn't the same be true of cows milk.
 
In the early days of our list, Kalle Reichelt cited some journal articles
showing that gluten does indeed carry over into mother's milk, although the
amounts are small.  Don Kasarda told me that while he has never seen any
research on point, he would expect cows milk NOT to have any gluten due to
the very different "two-stomach" bovine digestive system.
 
My non-celiac wife feels there is a clear difference in our baby's behavior
when she consumed gluten and/or casein, so she stopped eating them, and plans
to keep them out of her diet until she stops nursing.  Admittedly,
this is not a double-blind, placebo controlled experiment!
 
Bill Elkus
Los Angeles