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

Thanks to all who responded so quickly.  Everyone agrees that Sprue and
celiac are the same disease, and there isn't a test for either that will
yield accurate results unless you are eating gluten.  Testing for the genes
will only tell whether you have the genens and are predisposed for the
illness, not whether you do have the illness or will ever get the illness.
One person wrote a particularly clear and concise response, which I copy
here for anyone else who may wish to read it:


1. "Sprue" is short for "nontropical sprue" which was what they used to call
adult celiac disease 50 years ago.

2. "Celiac disease" is what they called the childhood disease 50 years ago.

3. With the development of endoscopy and biopsies from the small intestine,
it was discovered that there were not two separate diseases, one that

children had and one that adults had. It was all the same disease.

4. For a while, the names of the two diseases were combined into  "celiac

sprue".

5. In the last 10 years, we have mostly switched to using "celiac disease".

6. The blood tests detect antibodies to gluten. If a person has been gluten
free, no antibodies. Therefore, the results of blood tests of a person who

has been gluten free are not used to diagnose celiac disease.

7. The statement that sprue is an allergy is 100% wrong. Celiac disease is
an intolerance, not an allergy. You can test for allergies at any time, but

a person has to have been eating gluten for an extended period before taking
the blood tests or having an endoscopy to detect gluten intolerance, ie,

celiac disease.

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *