Celiac Disease Insights: Clues to Solving Autoimmunity by Alessio Fasano, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, appeared in Scientific American this month. Dr. Fasano raised several fascinating points about celiac disease, including how it was discovered, its signs and symptoms, and its causes. My goal is to break down the article into digestible bits, and today I will talk about the history part.
Discovery of Celiac Disease
The emergence of celiac disease began 10,000 years ago when humans, previously nomadic, learned about agriculture and started planting seeds and domesticated crops for food. The nomadic diet had been free of gluten up to that point.
Celiac disease was first labeled as such in the first century A.D. when a Greek physician named it after the word for “abdomen,” koelia.
In 1887, Samuel Gee, a British physician, attributed the chronic indigestion associated with celiac disease to “errors in diet,” yet he did not identify gluten as the source of the problem and often prescribed a diet of toast for his patients. Yikes!
Gluten was identified as the trigger for celiac disease following a shortage of bread in the Netherlands after World War II, which caused the death rate among children affected by celiac disease to drop from 35% to zero, an astonishing result.
Signs and Symptoms of Celiac Disease
The classical outward signs of celiac disease include persistent indigestion and chronic diarrhea, but these only occur when large or important sections of the intestine are damaged. If only small portions are dysfunctional or the inflammation is mild, as is true for the majority of people with celiac disease, then the symptoms may be less severe or atypical in presentation.
Impaired nutrient absorption by the small intestine associated with untreated celiac disease can lead to anemia, a variety of neurological problems, osteoporosis, joint pain, chronic fatigue, short stature, skin lesions, epilepsy, dementia, schizophrenia, and seizures. Wow!
These symptoms can be prevented if celiac disease is detected early, and gluten is removed from the diet completely. This highlights the importance of early detection and treatment. The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center is offering free blood testing on October 10, 2009. Go to www.celiacdisease.net for details.
Photo credit: glennwilliamspdx
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How about a fascinating little-known fact about CD/DH? Iodine intolerant when applied topically – the equivalent of a 2nd degree burn.
I also suffer a reaction with topically applied Iodine and all mercury based antiseptics. Feels like a burn but was told the reaction is called cellulitis. This reaction is associated with my celiac disease?? I wasn’t aware they had anything to do with each other.
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