Malabsorption News

About one in five children with celiac disease who adhere to a gluten-free diet have persistent enteropathy, researchers found.

LAS VEGAS — Testing at-risk groups, or “case-finding,” is the current paradigm for clinical detection of celiac disease, but it may not be effective, according to research presented at ACG 2016.

Premenopausal women with celiac disease saw improvements in bone microarchitecture after adhering to a gluten-free diet for 1 year, according to results from a prospective study.

The prevalence of celiac disease in the United States has plateaued, but the number of people following gluten-free diets has increased, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In this guest commentary, Alice Bast, CEO of Beyond Celiac — the national patient advocacy group formerly known as the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness — discusses the importance of educating at-risk relatives of patients with celiac disease about getting tested themselves. Using patient-powered research, Beyond Celiac identified effective communication strategies for educating family members of celiac patients, and the resulting Seriously, Celiac Disease campaign aims to promote effective communication and increase diagnosis rates.

Recent findings published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology suggest that gluten is not responsible for the symptoms seen in most patients with non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

During the past year, numerous developments in celiac disease have been achieved by researchers in the field, whereas a number of setbacks have stalled the development of a leading drug candidate, and caused a major pediatric society to revise one of its celiac guidelines.

With more than 20 years’ experience in research and development of immunology and gastroenterology, including celiac disease, Francisco León, MD, PhD, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Celimmune, reflected on the changing tides within the emerging celiac R&D space. At the forefront in changes are measurement of outcomes and validation of celiac as a treatable disease.

From a time when celiac disease ranked low on the priority list for U.S. physicians, thought of as a European disease, recent developments point to a changing tide. Today, researchers across the globe pursue the next discovery in a disease on the rise and even American government agencies have joined the charge.

Swedish children born in the spring, summer and autumn have an increased risk for developing celiac disease in childhood compared with those born in the winter, especially if they were born in the southern region of the country, according to the results of a prospective cohort study.