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

I addressed most of the questions that I received concerning this post in a
subsequent entry with the subject line "A maximum daily allowance for
gluten, Part 2."  Since then, I have received two additional questions.

Q1:  Were the units used for gluten in the study, written as "mg,"
milligrams or micrograms?

A1:  An earlier post incorrectly stated the units were micrograms. The
correct interpretation of "mg" is milligrams.  Microgram is abbreviated with
the Greek letter "mu" followed by letter "g" or it can be written as "mcg."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microgram for more information.

Q2:  Do you know if consuming trace amounts of gluten from cross
contamination when eating out would show positive antibodies in a blood
test?

A1:  The researchers made an interesting observation as a result of their
study: blood tests were not as sensitive in detecting change in intestinal
architecture resulting from accidental gluten ingestion as biopsies were.
The report stated, "Neither the IgA class anti-tTG nor the IgG class AGA
antibodies (which were always normal) showed a correlation with the mucosal
changes found in some patients, confirming that these serologic markers are
not sensitive enough to detect the residual enteropathy that can be found in
apparently healthy CD patients receiving treatment with a GFD."
Nevertheless, the recommended method for monitoring diet compliance is an
annual blood test rather than an annual biopsy.  Certainly, if a blood test
shows elevated antibodies, there is gluten in the diet, and it is a warning
to begin looking for the culprit.


Those who have concerns about their diet compliance or who have not had
annual follow-up testing, should discuss their concerns with their
gastroenterologist.  There is a fact sheet concerning follow-up testing
online at
http://www.celiacdisease.net/assets/pdf/CDCFactSheetsFollowUpTests7.pdf.

Thank you to all of you who sent thanks and kind words about my posts.

Deborah Holladay
Alamo Celiac GIG Membership Database
http://alamoceliac.org
 

Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC