Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that manifests as an adverse reaction to gluten consumption. Specifically, individuals with Celiac disease are unable to process the protein gliadin. The only treatment to date is a life-long adherence to a gluten free diet. As long as adherence to this diet is maintained, the disease is manageable in that any symptoms should remain dormant. Continuing to consume gluten, however, can result in general malnutrition, the development of other autoimmune disorders, and in some cases, gastrointestinal associated cancers.
There are multiple symptoms that an individual might demonstrate that would indicate that the individual is affected by Celiac disease. In some people, these may be as severe as malabsorption, stunted development, or gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal pain or diarrhea. Others may experience more mild symptoms such as anemia; yet others still are asymptomatic, which can make diagnosis of the disease difficult (Iwańczak et. Al, 2013).
In order to effectively diagnosis Celiac disease in both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, the patient must be consuming gluten during diagnosis, as any damage to the body of a Celiac disease patient will usually heal within six weeks of adopting a gluten free diet Blood tests to identify common antibodies associated with Celiac disease are the single most common test used. Enscopic biopsies are also an effective method of diagnosis and commonly used. This test is also considered very reliable. Symptom associated tests, such as anemia tests, are considered less effective methods of diagnosis (van der Windt et. Al, 2010).
There are many different loci across the genome that indicate susceptibility to Celiac disease The most significant indicator of the disease seems to be a gene involved in the innate immune response. 95% of people affected with Celiac contain one of two isoforms (two different variations of a protein) of a specific antigen presenting receptor (a protein on a cell that helps with the immune response) (van Heel et. Al, 2005). It is not enough to just have these different receptors It is also widely accepted that there must also be some sort of “event” that triggers the disease to develop in an individual. The specific nature of these triggering events could be anything from environmental stress at any age, to developmental stress at a young age, to complications during pregnancy. The mechanism behind which these events trigger the disease, however, is still largely unknown.
The cause of all of the symptoms presented above is related to the body’s inability to distinguish between itself and foreign entities, as well as changes in the structure of the small intestine. In other words, when a Celiac patient consumes gluten, the small intestine reacts in such a way to allow an increased amount of gliadin (compared to a normal individual) to pass into the blood stream. The body recognizes this gliadin in the same way it recognizes a foreign virus and proceeds to mount an immune response against it (Koning et. Al, 2005). The immune response is generally characterized by unchecked and global inflammation.
This inflammatory response is thought to result in the degradation of the intestinal villi and epithelial lining of the small intestine, which results in an overall inability to absorb nutrients, accounting for the symptoms associated with Celiac disease.
Jump to other pages of Celiac disease:
Molecular Basis of the Disease State
Treatment and Disease Management
Conclusions and Proposals for Future Work
I found this article interesting, but it was a bit bit heavy on the scientific terminology to be completely understandable to a lay person. For example, paragraph four refers to isoforms and antigen presenting receptors. This article would be more informative to me if terms such as those were defined.
I could not understand about half of what was written. Many technical words needed to be explained. Also some grammar and spelling issues didn’t help.
Hey Keri’s Dad,
Thanks for the feedback! I realized that my title page may have initially been a loaded in terms of scientific terminology, so I tried to cut back on that a little bit. I also fixed the grammar issues (I think) and added links to the vocabulary. Hopefully that helps!
Tommy Hoffmann
Hey Meggan,
Thanks for the feedback! I tried my best to cut down as much of the scientific terminology as possible while still maintaining the essence of the disease. I also added the links, so hopefully that will be helpful. Finally, I removed the first picture and replaced it with a more general overview of the process, as I had heard the first picture was confusing to understand.
Tommy Hoffmann
Hi Tommy,
First, you chose a really interesting topic that I think many people have heard of, yet few actually know the core details about. I think you provided some really nice information, and it was interesting to read. I have a few suggestions for improving your page:
1) I might remove the picture from top of page. It’s covered by the title, and you present it towards the bottom as well, which I think is enough.
2) Although you chose good topics to link to, all the links in the article are dead, so you may want to check those. Link to “autoimmune disorder”
3) I was a little confused by a couple of your statements in the beginning. You start by saying that Celiac disease is an inability to “consume” gluten, but then you also say it’s an inability to “process” gluten. This could use some clarification.
4) In which ways can Celiac disease be life threatening? This was something I was interested in hearing more about this, because I wasn’t previously aware that Celiac could be life threatening.
5) You might want to provide links for the following terms (some are linked at one place but not at another, and I would just like them all): “endoscopic biopsy,” “loci across the genome,” “antigen (antigen presenting receptor),” “isoform.”
6) Finally, one last comment – sometimes Celiac is capitalized, and sometimes it’s not. I would stick to one or the other consistently.
Nice job!
Hey Chelsea,
Thanks for the detailed feedback I really appreciate it! I honestly took most of the advice in your comment. First, I added the links and included a few more, as you suggested. I also fixed (I think) any lingering grammatical errors. Finally, I added a new figure that I think nicely outlines the general pathology of Celiac disease.
Hope that helps!
Tommy Hoffmann
Hi, I have been a diagnosed Celiac for over 30 years and found this article had alot of terms that I was unfamiliar with. It would have been helpful if you elaborated on the life threatening issues one could have. Also after my diagnosis it took much longer than 6 weeks for healing to take place.