<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Robin wrote: > One person suggested that I have the baby's cord blood checked for > HLA type so that I'll know if the baby has CD. This sounds like a good suggestion to me, but I do want to comment on this. HLA typing will NOT tell you if you have Celiac Disease (CD). What it will tell you is whether or not you have the genes that are almost always associated with CD. Here are some excerpts from the CEL-HLA reference file: --=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====-- Q. Can genetics testing determine if my sibling will get Celiac Disease? No, but it can give you a great deal of insight into the probability of developing Celiac Disease. If your sibling does not have the HLA markers associated with CD, it is extremely unlikely that he/she will ever develop the disorder. However, if he/she does have these markers, there is currently no way of predicting whether or not the disorder will eventually develop. It is known that the risk of CD is vastly increased (about 50-100 times more likely than in the general population) in these siblings... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. How common are the Celiac-related HLA markers in the general population? In other words, how specific to Celiac Disease are the Celiac-related HLA markers? We will go into more detail soon, but generally speaking, about 25-30% of the general population of European extraction has these particular HLA markers. These same markers are found in more than 95% of all Celiacs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. If HLA testing only shows tendencies, why bother doing it at all? This is an excellent question. Many gastroenterologists do not recommend HLA typing of the family members of a Celiac. The following are the reasons that one might do it anyway: a) Excluding CD as possibility... b) Necessity of serology re-testing... c) Attention to at-risk siblings... --=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====--=====-- Clearly there must be other factors related to CD, both genetic and environmental, if 25-30% of the population have these HLA markers, but far fewer than 1% actually have CD. To find out more, read the CEL-HLA reference file at one of these web pages: http://rdz.stjohns.edu/lists/celiac/cel-hla.html http://www.fastlane.net/homepages/thodge/cel-hla or you can have a copy sent to you by e-mail. To do so, send a message to [log in to unmask] containing this line: GET CELIAC CEL-HLA -- -- Jim Lyles ................... Home: [log in to unmask] -- Holly, Michigan, USA ........ Work: [log in to unmask] --