Malabsorption News

Cyrex Laboratories has launched the Array 3 wheat/gluten proteome reactivity and autoimmunity test panel, the “most advanced” of its kind, according to a press release.

In study data published in the Journal of Hepatology, patients with celiac disease had an increased risk for developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease vs. the general population.

WASHINGTON — Patients with celiac disease incurred higher all-cause direct costs compared with non-celiac patients, especially those with uncontrolled celiac disease, according to data presented Digestive Disease Week.

WASHINGTON — Gluten-free labeling does not accurately reflect gluten content in probiotics, which may be significantly high, according to data released in advance of Digestive Disease Week.

A recent study found patients with biopsy-verified celiac disease had an increased risk for neuropathy.

Celiac disease is a genetic immune disease that damages the small intestine in people who have difficulty digesting gluten. Damage caused to the small intestine may lead to weight loss, bloating and sometimes diarrhea. In some cases, the brain, nervous system, bones, liver and other organs may be deprived of vital nourishment, according to the Mayo Clinic.

As both diagnosis and prevalence of celiac disease reaches new heights, gastroenterologists are at the center of diagnosis and treatment, which are both currently limited by available technologies.

The prevalence of celiac disease in the United States has more than doubled during the past 2 decades and currently affects approximately 2 million Americans and 3.5 million Europeans, according to recent estimates. However, most individuals with celiac disease remain undiagnosed, and for those who receive a diagnosis, notoriously difficult lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet remains the only effective treatment.

A recent guideline published by the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, or ESPGHAN, which established criteria for omitting a diagnostic biopsy for pediatric celiac disease, has a high positive predicted value dependent on the performance of celiac serology tests, according to research data.

Most children with detected persistent transglutaminase autoantibodies were asymptomatic and had normal growth by age 4 years, according to study findings in Pediatrics.