<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> This is a retransmittal of a bounced message from: "Christine R. Childs" <[log in to unmask]> I feel the need to reply to the reliability of the blood tests for antibodies to celiac - antigliadin, antiedomysium, and antireticulin. Recently I did a lot of research for a paper on the diagnosis of celiac disease. One thing that came out over and over again, was that the blood tests were not reliable enough to replace the biopsy, at best they could be used in conjunction with the biopsy - reducing the need for further biopsies. One important fact is that if the patient is on a gluten free diet, it is unlikely that any of the tests would be positive. Antigliadin is prone to false positives and negatives and is the least sensitive. By far the most sensitive is the anti-endomysium, but it is strongly effected by diet. This makes it a great way to monitor diet compliance - but a negative test would be suspect. Positive tests are correlated 97 -100% to celiac disease, and are very reliable. (According to an article in Clinical and Experimental Immunology vol 95 -more info if anybody wants it). What this all means is that if you get a anti-endomysial antibody test and it is positive - there is a very good chance that you have celiac disease. If you get the test and it is negative - then further tests are needed because a negative test is *not* conclusive. I am not a doctor - so please talk to a gastroenterologist about this. If anyone wants any of the research stuff I have found, let me know and I will upload it (abstracts only - I don't have entire articles on disk). Christine Childs Senior in Medical Technology, Microbiology University of Montana Missoula, Montana