Causes of Celiac Disease
Discover three key compounds in gluten-a protein found in some grains that cause celiac disease.
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Scientists in Australia and the United Kingdom discovered three key compounds in gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, which are the cause of celiac disease.
This is a digestive disorder caused by intolerance to the protein, which causes an immune reaction that damages the lining of the small intestine hindering their ability to absorb nutrients.
If the disease is not detected can lead to severe malnutrition.
There are currently no treatments for the disease and the patient should remove gluten from your diet permanently.
The new findings, say researchers from the Medical Research Institute Walter and Eliza Hall, Melbourne, could potentially lead to the development of new treatments and diagnostic methods for the millions of people worldwide who suffer from celiac disease.
60 years ago it was discovered that gluten was the environmental causes of disease and since then many scientists around the world have tried to find the biological process that causes it.
“The Holy Grail of celiac disease research has been to identify the toxic components of gluten,” said Dr. Bob Anderson, who led the study.
“Chocolate Cake”
“And this is what we now are.”
The research, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, started nine years ago and involved more than 200 patients with celiac disease clinics in Melbourne and Oxford.
Volunteers were asked to eat wheat bread and rye, and barley boiled.
Six days later, blood samples of patients to measure their immune response to thousands of different components, gluten-peptides.
The tests identified 90 peptides that were causing some kind of immune reaction, but found that three of these were particularly toxic.
According to Professor Anderson, “These three components are involved in most gluten immune responses observed in people with celiac disease.”
Challenge
The disorder is often an enormous challenge for patients.
Almost half of those who suffer, despite following a diet free of gluten, damage your gut five years after removal of protein food.
The new findings are already being used by a biotechnology company developing immunotherapy to desensitize allow celiac patients to the toxic effects of gluten.
It works by exposing the patient to small amounts of the three toxic peptides.
The first phase of clinical trials was completed in June and results expected in the coming months.
Sarah Sleet, chief executive of the organization Coeliac UK, said the finding could potentially lead to a vaccine against the disease.
“It’s an important piece in the puzzle, but more research is still needed, so we should not expect a solution in clinical practice in the coming years.”
Symptoms of the disease include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, recurring fatigue, headaches, weight loss and mouth sores.