<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> ========================= Internet 1. National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse has a wide selection of reference sheets on digestive medical conditions. They may be contacted at: National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse, 2 Information Way, Bethesda, MD 20892 (301) 654-3810 or http://www.niddk.nih.gov. 2. Celiac-Diabetes Screening: It is thought that celiacs have a greater chance of developing Type I (juvenile) diabetes than non-celiacs. There is a free NIH-sponsored diabetes screening test going on. If you live in the USA and have a first or second degree relative with Type I diabetes, you can be tested for free by calling (800) 425-8361. The purpose of the test is to determine if those without diabetes (but with certain antibodies indicating diabetes is likely to develop) can delay or avoid diabetes through very small doses of insulin. (3) 3. Celiac Disease and Birth Defects: This story was posted on the Internet regarding spina bifida and the possibility of birth defects relating to nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy caused by celiac-related malabsorption. A young mother, who is quite thin, "...was diagnosed with sprue in high school, but she got over it." (This, of course, is nonsense.) She has a young daughter with spina bifida. The post suggested a possible link between spina bifida and low maternal folic acid. Meanwhile the young mother could easily have another child, and is apparently unaware that she still has (and always will have) the sprue she thought she got over in high school. This raised the question: Could the spina bifida in the daughter have been caused by malabsorption and is there any relationship to CD? There were several responses to this message. Permission was granted by two of the doctors to widely distribute their responses. From: Markku Maki, MD Date: September 15, 1995 At the Celiac Disease Study Group in Tampere, we want to respond. We have discussed this lately and we are going to do an inquiry to the Finnish Coeliac Disease Society members about this. Dr. Kati Holm has a case you might be interested in: The first child of the mother suffered from spina bifida and meningomyelocele (boy). Two pregnancies that followed resulted in abortion because of intrauterine diagnosis (confirmed meningomyelocele at autopsy). During the fourth pregnancy anemia and folic acid deficiency were noticed. The mother was treated with vitamins, folic acid and iron. The pregnancy resulted in a healthy girl. After this there were again several abortions because of detected menigmyelocele. The mother contacted Dr. Kati Holm (Ph.D. on celiac disease) because of diarrhea and anemia and subsequently celiac disease screening tests were performed among other studies. IgA class reticulin autoantibody tests were positive and a jejunal biopsy revealed the typical lesion for celiac disease. She was prescribed a gluten-free diet, after which symptoms disappeared. The iron and folic acid deficiencies disappeared at the same time as the mucosa recovered. One pregnancy resulted, without any other therapy, in a healthy child. All this by chance alone?? From: Karoly Horvath, MD, Ph.D. Date: September 17, 1995 The relation between folate deficiency and neural tube defects is well documented. Several studies have demonstrated a significant reduction of neural tube defects in the newborns of folate supplemented pregnant woman. The risk reduction varies between 58-91%. The different studies used different supplementation and doses. A recent review article summarizes the up-to-date information in this subject (Czeizel AE, "Folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects", Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 20: 4-16, 1995). The other association between folate deficiency and absorptive problem is not questionable, and does not need to be proven. I do not have any doubt that that the babies of women with non-diagnosed CD have an increased risk for neural tube defects. We can collect information retrospectively, however, it will not be easy and convincing. A prospective study is easier if we found a center treating mostly children with neural tube defects and we can get blood samples from the mother shortly after giving birth for folate level determination and celiac serologic tests. 4. Computer Software Discounts are designed to allow qualifying 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations to purchase certain Microsoft products at special discounts. Eligible nonprofit organizations (excluding hospitals and HMOs) may receive discounted prices on products for their business use only. Other companies may offer similar programs. Contact Microsoft Sales at (800) 426-9400 for details. (4) Dow Jones News is a subscription service available at some libraries. It is an easy way, to find articles on celiac disease in the news. These stories can give some interesting insight into living a GF diet or are a handy reference for use in requesting a local story on celiacs.