Celiac disease is a disease caused by intolerance to gluten, a protein found in cereals such as wheat, barley and rye. These cereals are present in many everyday foods such as bread, pasta and cookies.
Celiac disease affects the mucosa of the small intestine, through which food is absorbed, as gluten intolerance causes it to become inflamed. This process can progress to mucosal atrophy, which causes the mucosa to lose its absorption function and leads to multiple digestive and extra-digestive symptoms.
Celiac disease is a hereditary disorder and only those who inherit the gene can develop this disease. Even so, there are factors that trigger this development, such as gastroenteritis, pregnancy or stress.
How to detect celiac disease?
The diagnosis is not easy, since it is possible that the patient does not report any symptoms, although the most frequent is that he/she suffers from digestive disorders such as:
- Abdominal bloating.
- Flatulence.
- Bad digestion.
- Vomiting.
- Irritable bowel syndrome.
- Diarrhea.
- Chronic abdominal pain.
- Delayed growth in children, etc.
There are also symptoms not related to digestion, such as:
- Anemia due to lack of iron.
- Osteoporosis due to lack of calcium absorption.
- Aphthous ulcers in the mouth.
- Tiredness.
- Infertility.
- Dermatitis herpetiformis.
- Weight loss, etc.
Therefore, the important thing for the diagnosis is that the physician thinks about this possibility in the presence of a patient with any of these symptoms.
Serological studies of antibodies and genetic studies can be done, but the final diagnosis is made with a biopsy of the intestine to see if there is mucosal involvement and to what degree. These biopsies are currently performed endoscopically, which allows multiple samples to be taken from various areas of the intestine in a few minutes and without discomfort for the patient.
How can it be treated?
Gluten intolerance does not disappear, but following a gluten-free diet the intestinal mucosa recovers and the patient is no longer ill. Therefore, the affected person has to eliminate gluten-containing cereals from his diet. Some research shows that coeliacs who do not follow the gluten-free diet live shorter lives than those who do.
At the moment, there is no treatment beyond the gluten-free diet, although research is being done on a specific medication and there could be developments in the near future.