Scientists Seek Celiac Disease Therapy Besides Gluten-Free Diet

Until about 15 years ago, pharmaceutical companies showed little interest in drug development for celiac disease, said Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, reported Alice Callahan for the New York Times.

Photo Insert: Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disease, which means that you cannot “grow out” of it.

At the time, researchers knew that for those with the condition, consuming gluten — a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley — caused damage to the small intestine. But they didn’t understand how or why gluten had this effect.

And, Dr. Fasano said, it seemed there was already a simple way to manage celiac disease: Adopt a gluten-free diet. However, research continues to develop treatments for the disease.

For the estimated 1 percent of Caucasians who have this autoimmune condition, avoiding gluten is currently the only method for thwarting small intestine damage and relieving the various symptoms of the disease, which can include abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, depression, fatigue, headache, a blistery skin rash, and iron-deficiency anemia.

Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disease, which means that you cannot “grow out” of it, the Celiac Disease Foundation stressed. The treatment for both celiac disease and non-celiac gluten/wheat sensitivity is lifelong adherence to a strict gluten-free diet.

Only food and beverage with a gluten content of less than 20 parts per million (ppm) are allowed. The gluten-free diet heals the villous atrophy in the small intestine, causing symptoms to resolve. Following a gluten-free diet also helps prevent future complications, including malignancies.

Commonly, people with celiac disease are deficient in fiber, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, folate, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B12, and vitamin D, as well as in calories and protein.

Deficiencies in copper and vitamin B6 are also possible, but less common. Supplementation of B12 and folate may help individuals with celiac disease recover from anxiety and depression caused by vitamin deficiencies.

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