Had to break this up...I couldn't edit anymore because the length was too long.


Antigliadin antibodies (AGA) mark celiac disease, but AGA are also encountered in IgA-nephritis, psoriasis, sickle-cell anemia, hepatic disorders, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroidism and in persons who occupationally contact great amounts of wheat. AGA IgA and/or IgG were registered in 19 of 60 subjects (51 adults and 9 children) with various immunomediated diseases without symptoms of celiac disease: in 4 cases of chronic active hepatitis, in 2 of 4 cases of chronic persistent hepatitis, in 4 of 16 cases of rheumatoid arthritis, in 3 of 19 cases of IgA-deficiency, in 1 of 8 cases of SLE, in 2 cases of postvaccine reaction, in all the single cases of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, focal scleroderma, macroglobulinemia. IgA only occurred in in 6 patients, IgG- in 6 patients, both IgA and IgG in 7 patients. The most pronounced positive reaction to AGA was recorded in 8-year-old girl with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The emergence of AGA in immunomediated diseases may be attributed to the response to food protein in pathological conditions and is often unrelated closely with celiac disease.
[Antigliadin antibodies in the absence of celiac disease] PMID: 9553358 1998

Our results showed that while AGA-IgA were absent in all children studied, with the exception of 3 cases of acute diarrhoea, a moderate percentage of AGA-IgG was observed in subjects with cow's milk protein intolerance, acute diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome, lactase deficiency, chronic intractable diarrhoea and in a low percentage of children with parasitosis, intestinal lymphangiectasia and nodular lymphoid hyperplasia.
The predictive value of antigliadin antibodies (AGA) in the diagnosis of non-celiac gastrointestinal disease in children] PMID: 8341233 Mar 1993

CONCLUSIONS: IgA-class antireticulin or antigliadin antibody-positive patients with normal small-bowel mucosal morphology frequently have immunohistochemical markers of coeliac disease latency. Together with our follow-up data this implies that they may be gluten-sensitive.
Small-bowel mucosal inflammation in reticulin or gliadin antibody-positive patients without villous atrophy. PMID: 9759950 Sept 1998

We describe a unique case of atypical natural killer (NK)-cell proliferation likely related to gluten sensitivity, mimicking NK-cell lymphoma. >>> Two years after initial presentation, the patient was found to have high titers of antigliadin antibodies with no other evidence of celiac disease. After instituting a gluten-free diet, many of the lesions regressed, suggesting that this atypical NK-cell proliferation may be driven by an anomalous immune response. Awareness of this case may prevent pathologists from misdiagnosing similar lesions as NK/T-cell lymphomas. It is as yet unknown whether this process occurs more commonly in patients with gluten sensitivity, or in other settings, and the pathogenesis is as yet undetermined.
Atypical NK-cell proliferation of the gastrointestinal tract in a patient with antigliadin antibodies but not celiac disease. PMID: 16625103 April 2006


CONCLUSION: We show that Caucasian Argentine women with RPL showed significantly higher incidence of anticardiolipin antibodies than normal controls and finally we recommended the screening of IgA and IgG antigliadina and IgA antitransglutaminase antibodies in pregnancy, because of the high prevalence of subclinical CD in RPL and the chance of reversibility through consumption of a gluten free diet.
Autoantibodies in Argentine women with recurrent pregnancy loss. PMID: 16451354

Longitudinal follow-up examination of antigliadin antibody positive children and adults. PMID: 16607144 May 2006
[this one supports the antibodies are meaningless because they disappear over time (4 years later in this study) in 50%, but... but don't antibodies fluctuate in other autoimmune disease as well... ? What about those who remained positive? Gee... didn't they used to think celiac disease was outgrown, too? I'm still not convinced those antibodies are meaningless...something is going on there. jcc].



Discussion/Commentary

Do antigliadin antibodies suggest gluten sensitivity may be involved in diseases other than Celiac Disease? If gluten sensitivity can cause celiac disease, why is it such a far stretch to consider it might be relevant in other autoimmune disease? If gluten sensitivity can cause autoimmune disease, what about a similar response to other foods? Casein? Soy?

Association does not prove cause, granted. BUT, it is interesting to me that so many of these other conditions have not only increased associations with celiac disease, but anecdotal reports (and a few medical journal reports) of some of these patients with other autoimmune conditions improving on a gluten free diet. When other conditions remit on a gluten free diet, what does that say???

There is so much left unanswered, but~

It's time the researchers look more closely at gluten sensitivity (beyond the confines of celiac disease) rather than dismissing it. How do we know whether a gluten free diet might help these other conditions if we don't suspect it, don't test for it, and don't try treating it? And of course, it is difficult to have controlled studies on diet, because compliance (even among good effort) and monitoring are difficult to control. I think the anecdotal reports I read about are promising, and should give people pause to consider a gluten free diet when gluten sensitivity of any degree is present. JMO.