Senior Member (jccglutenfree)
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,581
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Senior Member (jccglutenfree)
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,581
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Celiac Disease / Gluten Sensitivity
Celiac disease is the only autoimmune disease that has a known cause...an abnormal immune system response to food containing gluten (wheat, barley, rye). It is also associated with other autoimmune disease, especially autoimmune thyroid disease and Type 1 Diabetes. Some research suggests that gluten sensitivity may play a causitive role in the development of other autoimmune disease, and there are many interesting reports in medical literature of various other diseases improving or resolving once the celiac/gluten sensitive patient begins a gluten free diet.
From:
Emerging concepts in celiac disease by William Treem, MD
Quote:
"The association of CD with autoimmune diseases, particularly Type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroid disease, has been widely reported with some investigators finding a ten-fold increase in patients with CD compared with the general population [68,69].Less clear is the link between CD and Sjögren syndrome, primary biliary cirrhosis, Addison disease, autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, cardiomyopathy, and peripheral neuropathy (not due to B-12 or vitamin E deficiency) [70–73•,74•].
When both CD and autoimmune disease occur in a patient, CD is most often silent.The autoimmune disease is diagnosed first with the diagnosis of CD the result of serologic screening in this high-risk population.
The question whether the early diagnosis and treatment of CD reduces the risk of developing other autoimmune diseases is still open to debate.There are several lines of evidence that support the notion that CD is a causative factor in the development of other autoimmune diseases. A recent study suggests that the prevalence of autoimmune diseases is closely related to the duration of gluten exposure and the age of initiation of a GFD with children diagnosed and treated before 2 years of age having little subsequent increased risk [75].Older children diagnosed with CD have a higher than expected frequency of organ-specific autoantibodies that tend to disappear after starting a GFD.Anecdotal reports suggest that socalled "celiac neuropathy", IgA nephropathy, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune myocarditis will all improve when patients who have underlying CD are maintained on a strict GFD [73•,74•,76,77]. "
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For more info see:
The Gluten File
Especially:
At Risk Population for Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac Disease
Type 1 Diabetes and Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Other Autoimmune Disease ~
Addison's, Liver, Kidney, Colitis, Gastritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Sjogrens, Sarcoidosis, Thrombocytopenia, Vitiligo, Alopecia Areata
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Last edited by jccgf; 09-18-2006 at 09:57 PM.
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