Neurologic Presentation of Celiac Disease: Growing evidence documents the involvement of around 20 skin diseases among the extra-intestinal manifestations of Celiac Disease. Italian doctors have released a report that examines all CD associated skin manifestations described in the English literature and analyzes the possible mechanisms involved in this association. (March, 2006)

Neurologic Presentation of Celiac Disease: Celiac disease (CD) long has been associated with neurologic and psychiatric disorders including cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy, dementia, and depression. This article looks at the effect that the gluten free diet has on these disorders. (May, 2005)

Skin Manifestations of Celiac Disease: Dr. John J. Zone's article on dermatitis herpatiformis appears in Gastroenterology. In the article, Dr. Zone discusses how DH is diagnosed, who should be tested, the manifestations and long term consequences of DH, other diseases associated with it, and recommendations for future research. (May, 2005)

GF Diet May Alleviate Depressive and Behavioural Symptoms in Adolescents With CD: Coeliac disease in adolescents has been associated with an increased prevalence of depressive and disruptive behavioural disorders, particularly in the phase before diet treatment. This study looked at the possible effects of a gluten-free diet on psychiatric symptoms, on hormonal status (prolactin, thyroidal function) and on large neutral amino acid serum concentrations in adolescents with coeliac disease commencing a gluten-free diet. (April, 2005)

Celiac Sprue Presenting as Severe Hemorrhagic Diathesis Due to Vitamin K Deficiency: Download the pdf file. (January, 2005)

Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Celiac Disease in Children: Recommendations of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition: The Celiac Disease Guideline Committee of the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition has formulated a clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric celiac disease based on an integration of a systematic review of the medical literature combined with expert opinion. Read the pdf file. (January, 2005)

Neurological Manifestations of Celiac Disease: Celiac disease (CD/ Nontropicalsprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy) is a malabsortive condition in which an allergic reaction to the cereal grain-protein gluten (present in wheat, rye and barley) causes small intestine mucosal injury. The onset is in the first four decades of life, with a female to male ratio of 2:1. It may be associated with a wide spectrum of neurological manifestations including cerebellar ataxia, epileptic seizures, dementia, neuropathy, myopathy and multifocal leucoencephalopathy. We report three patients with neurological manifestations related with CD: one with cerebellar ataxia, one with epilepsy and one with cognitive impairment. The diagnosis of CD was confirmed by serologic tests (antiendomysial and antigliadin antibodies) and biopsy of the small intestine. In two patients the neurological symptoms preceded the gastrointestinal abnormalities and in all of them gluten restriction failed to improve the neurological disability. Conclusion: CD should be ruled out in the differential diagnosis of neurological dysfunction of unknown cause, including ataxia, epilepsy and dementia. A gluten free diet, the mainstay of treatment, failed to improve the neurological disability. (January, 2005)

The Molecular Basis for Oat Intolerance in Patients with Celiac Disease Celiac disease is a small intestinal inflammatory disorder characterized by malabsorption, nutrient deficiency, and a range of clinical manifestations. It is caused by an inappropriate immune response to dietary gluten and is treated with a gluten-free diet. Recent feeding studies have indicated oats to be safe for celiac disease patients, and oats are now often included in the celiac disease diet. This study aimed to investigate whether oat intolerance exists in celiac disease and to characterize the cells and processes underlying this intolerance. To read the entire research article, click on the title above. (November, 2004)

Celiac Disease: The Great Imitator It is becoming evident that a host of disorders in many systems are aetiologically related to the presence of CD, often manifesting themselves in the context of an inapparent coeliac state. For some, such as fatty liver “transaminitis” or hepatitis, the link is clear. Our research (as yet unpublished) shows that about 40% of both children and adults with this disorder (who typically have laboratory and histological evidence of CD but few clinical signs) have liver abnormalities that resolve within a few months on an appropriate diet. (October, 2004)

Study Looks at the Risk of Incident Malignancy in Diagnosed CD There is recent evidence from studies of hospitalized and of undiagnosed patients that the risk of lymphoma for people with coeliac disease may be lower than previously thought. In addition, there have been no precise estimates of small bowel lymphoma risk due to a lack of population data. This study examines these and other malignant risks in a cohort of patients more typical of those seen in routine clinical practice. (October, 2004)

Comparison of White Caucasian and South Asian Patients This study tried to identify factors relating to compliance with a gluten-free diet amongst white Caucasian and South Asians with coeliac disease. (October, 2004)

Study Looks at Malignancy and Mortality in People With CD People with coeliac disease have modest increases in overall risks of malignancy and mortality. Most of this excess risk occurs in the year of follow up after diagnosis. People with coeliac disease also have a noticeably reduced risk of breast cancer. The mechanism of this merits further attention as it may provide insights into the cause of this common malignancy. To Download a free full text article of this study as a pdf file, click on the title above. (August, 2004)

Can Trace Amounts Of Gluten Be Accepted In The Treatment of Coeliac Disease? Researchers at Tampere University in Finland conclude that the threshold for gluten-contamination can safely be set at 100 ppm. This level, they claim, can be achieved by the industry, and does not make the diet too cumbersome. (July, 2004)

Celiac Disease Needs To Be Taken Seriously Physicians discovered that Eric Oemig's father suffered from celiac disease - after he died of cancer. (July, 2004)

New Research Shows Children with Coeliac Disease Can Tolerate A Modest Amount of Oats: Children with coeliac disease can tolerate moderate amounts of oats in their gluten-free diets new research shows. The authors of a study published in Gut suggests the addition of oats will improve compliance in children and adolescents on gluten-free regimes. (May, 2004)

A Role For Bacteria In Celiac Disease: The finding of rod-shaped bacteria attached to the small intestinal epithelium of some untreated and treated celiac-disease patients, but not to the epithelium of healthy controls, ignites the notion that bacteria may be involved in the pathogenesis of celiac disease. This editorial discusses this possibility in relation to the current understanding of the molecular basis of this disorder. (May, 2004)

Study Looks At Celiac Risk In Families With Two Affected Children: The risk of CD in the members of nuclear families with two affected children is approximately three times higher than that when only one child is affected, according to the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition. (May, 2004)

Causes of Death in Patients With Celiac Disease in a Population-Based Swedish Cohort: Nationwide data on 10,032 Swedish patients hospitalized from January 1, 1964, through December 31, 1993, with celiac disease and surviving at least 12 months were linked with the national mortality register. Mortality risks were computed as standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), comparing mortality rates of patients with celiac disease with rates in the general Swedish population. (July, 2003)

Is the prevalence of celiac disease increased among epileptic patients? (June, 2003)

Target - Celiac Disease: Therapies aimed to complement or replace the gluten-free diet. (June, 2003)

Routine Duodenal Biopsies to Exclude Celiac Disease? by Peter H.R. Green, MD and Joseph A. Murray, MD. (June, 2003)

Guidelines on osteoporosis in gastrointestinal diseases:Read the American Gastroenterological Association's medical position statement. (March, 2003)

Migraine Linked to Celiac Disease: About 4% of migraine sufferers may have celiac disease, and a gluten-free diet may improve control of their symptoms. This article appears on Medscape. You must be a registered user to access it, but registration is free. (March, 2003)

New Developments in Celiac Disease: Much interest is seen in identifying the genetic factors that predispose to disease and the environmental agents that can trigger it. New diagnostic options include the tissue transglutaminase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. (March, 2003)

More on Oats: The issue of whether oats are safe for celiacs to digest is a controversial one in the celiac community. Read what Mohsin Rashid B.Sc., M.B.B.S., FRCP(C)Professional Advisory Board, Canadian Celiac Association has to say about it. (February, 2003)

Did President Kennedy have CD? Dr. Green, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons has an interesting article online at the History News Network. (November, 2002)

How Common in Celiac Disease in Saudi Arabia? This article is from the Annals of Saudi Medicine. Volume 22, (Nov. 2002)

Breastfeeding Reduces the Risk of Celiac Disease The gradual introduction of gluten-containing foods into the diet of infants while they are still being breast-fed reduces the risk of celiac disease in early childhood and probably also during the subsequent childhood period, according to a study done in Sweden. (September. 2002)