Coeliac Society of QLD 1300 GLUTEN (1300 458 836)
Gut Foundation
Paul Christensen (The Weekend Australian Health section 14-15 August 2010 page 8) provides information about research into Coeliac Disease.
Coeliac Disease is an autoimmune condition – an immune-mediated disease triggered by gluten intolerance.
Symptoms include malabsorption of nutrients the body needs to feed itself. It can result in malnutrition and anaemia.
Gluten is a protein found in many grains including wheat barley oats rye.
Bob Anderson at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne (and chief executive of Nexpep) is researching a desensitizing treatment based on the four toxic peptide components of gluten he has been identifying (3 are done).
At present the only effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. A strict gluten-free diet causes symptoms to disappear in people with Coeliac Disease and damage to the intestines heals over several years.
Probiotic or prebiotic diets may alleviate inflammation for some sufferes but trials are yet to be carried out.
In people with Coeliac Disease gluten inflames the small intestine damaging the villi the fingerlike projections that the body uses to extract nutrients from food.
Coeliac Disease is estimated to affect at least 1 in 100 people but it could be 5 times this as 80% of cases are thought to be undiagnosed.
A biopsy of the small intestine wall is the best way to diagnose Coeliac Disease.
It can mimic irritable bowel syndrome.
Food Standards Australia now requires any allergen in a product to be declared including gluten but restaurants are still a problem for those on a gluten-free diet. There are some gluten-free restaurants.
Foods regarded as gluten-free may contain hidden forms of gluten or be contaminated with it.