Vitamins needed to help celiacs stave off bone disease

Children with celiac disease need to include certain must-have vitamins in their diets to stave off weak bones and osteoporosis, say researchers at the University of Alberta.

A study of 43 children and teens from three to 18 years of age diagnosed with celiac disease showed that they also tended to have low bone density, likely due to poor intake and absorption of vitamins and minerals. That means they should be getting more of bone-boosting vitamins such as K and D in their diets, says Diana Mager, a professor of agricultural, food and nutritional science at the U of A, and one of the researchers on the project.

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Is biopsy avoidable on diagnosis of celiac disease?

Diagnosis of celiac disease is based on a characteristic enteropathy in an intestinal biopsy and evidence that these changes are gluten-triggered. The appropriate use of simpler and more accurate tools would add reliability to the diagnosis of celiac disease. Thus, the celiac disease-related serology might have a key role in defining new diagnostic standards for celiac disease.

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Novel processing technologies developed for extending use of oats in gluten-free diet

Contact: Elke Arendt
e.arendt@ucc.ie
35-321-490-2064
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Oats is a highly nutritious cereal, which can be tolerated by large number of celiac patients. A range of commercial oat flours as well as specific oat flours produced from single varieties have been evaluated for their suitability for bread-baking. Enzyme technology, bioprocessing as well as high-pressure processing technology have been successfully applied to improve the quality, safety and nutritional attributes of oat based foods.

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Conquering a severe complication of celiac disease

Contact: Karen Honey
press_releases@the-jci.org
734-546-5242
Journal of Clinical Investigation
One severe complication of celiac disease is enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma, a high-grade invasive lymphoma with a very poor prognosis. Previous research has suggested that chronic exposure of immune cells in the walls of the small intestine, which are known as intraepithelial lymphocytes, to potent anti-death signals initiated by the soluble factor IL-15 contributes to the development of enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma. A team of researchers, at INSERM U989, Université René Descartes, France, has now identified the survival signals delivered by IL-15 to freshly isolated human intraepithelial lymphocytes and to intraepithelial lymphocyte cell lines derived from patients with type II refractory celiac disease — a clinical state considered an intermediary step between celiac disease and enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma. Importantly, treatment with an antibody directed at IL-15 caused intraepithelial lymphocytes to die and wiped out their accumulation in mice overexpressing human IL-15 in the lining of their gut. The team, led by Nadine Cerf-Bensussan and Bertrand Meresse, therefore suggests that IL-15 and its downstream survival signals might provide new targets for the treatment of type II refractory celiac disease. Read more

Gut bacteria offer new insights — and hope — for people with celiac disease

Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Read more

Pinpointing immune system disturbances in celiac disease

Contact: Alex Fernandes
a.fernandes@qmul.ac.uk
44-20-788-25378
Queen Mary, University of London
New research has identified four aspects of immune system disturbance which lead to the development of coeliac disease. Nearly 40 different inherited risk factors which predispose to the disease have now been identified. These latest findings could speed the way towards improved diagnostics and treatments for the autoimmune complaint that affects 1 in 100 of the population, and lead to insights into related conditions such as type 1 diabetes.

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Scientists pinpoint critical molecule to celiac disease, possibly other autoimmune disorders

Findings reveal further detail about protein linked to inflammatory disorders

It was nine years ago that University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers discovered that a mysterious human protein called zonulin played a critical role in celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Now, scientists have solved the mystery of zonulin’s identity, putting a face to the name, in a sense. Scientists led by Alessio Fasano, M.D., have identified zonulin as a molecule in the human body called haptoglobin 2 precursor.

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Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease linked via shared genetic markers

Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes and celiac disease appear to share a common genetic origin, scientists at the University of Cambridge  and Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, have confirmed.

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Research advances may help prevent and improve diagnosis of celiac disease

For those suffering from celiac disease, there may be good news on the horizon. New research presented today at Digestive Disease Week® 2008 (DDW®) will discuss the latest advancements in the diagnosis and prevention of celiac sprue. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

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Scientists uncover further steps leading to celiac disease

Scientists who last year identified a new genetic risk factor for coeliac disease, have, following continued research, discovered an additional seven gene regions implicated in causing the condition. The team, lead by David van Heel, Professor of Gastrointestinal Genetics at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, have further demonstrated that of the nine coeliac gene regions now know, four of these are also predisposing factors for type 1 diabetes. Their research sheds light not only on the nature of coeliac disease, but on the common origins of both diseases. It is published online today (2 March 2008) in Nature Genetics.

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