<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Linda Blanchard asked: >>>>>> I have read the website at http://www.celiaccenter.org but it does not explain how the test works on diagnosed/diet-compliant celiacs. Does anyone have that information? I have searched the archives and read the celiaccenter.org website, which has very little detail on the test that I can find, anyway, and the only phrase I have found that says much of anything other than "this is a really good test" is, "Tissue transglutaminase, which is an intercellular enzyme or biological glue released by cell damage, may become a new epitope for screening and/or diagnosing CD." >>>>>>>>>> Here is a reply from Irene Berti at the University of Maryland: >From: "Irene Berti" <[log in to unmask]> > >When a celiac patient is in gluten-free diet, all the antibodies >disappear after about 6 months of strict diet. > >Usually the first one that disappear are the EmA, followed by AGA IgA >and IgG. > >If somebody does not have a diagnosis of celiac disease (biopsy >proved) but is following a gluten-free diet, the serological markers >will come negative, even if he is celiac, so this test, that is a >very good test, in that case will be not accurate. > >So the serological markers can be used as follow up during the diet, >but can not help people that don't have a diagnosis and are in >gluten-free diet. > > The tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is a new test: > >we can look for IgA and IgG antibodies agaist tTG, using an ELISA >test, that is an objective method. Anti tTG antibodies have the same >meanings of antiendomisyum antibodies, the most sensitive and >specificif test for celiac disease diagnosis, but they don't have the >same problems releated to the "operator's skill and experience". > > >Irene Berti