The research team found that gliadin, the part of gluten that causes the most trouble for those with celiac disease, binds to the CXCR3 receptor. This results in the release of zonulin, a human protein that lowers the intestinal barrier to make it more permeable. While this effect is temporary in most people, the barrier stays down for long periods of time in people with celiac disease, causing disruption in the body’s system.

The finding may help in research on the cause and treatment for other autoimmune diseases, Fasano said. People with type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis may experience a similar condition in which offending antigens enter the body through this gateway in the intestines.

“For the first time, we have evidence of how the foreign antigen gains access to the body, causing the autoimmune response,” said Fasano, who is also a pediatric gastroenterologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “Further study is needed, but this could allow us to intervene before the zonulin is either released or activated, preventing the immune response altogether.”

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Jerusalem – The website of 2Eat, (www.2eat.co.il) a popular Israeli Hebrew restaurant, reports that 85 percent of Israel’s restaurants now offer healthy or dietetic options to diners that often include a salad bar.

Restaurateurs who were polled said that more than one-third of their lunchtime customers order a green salad or some other salad with their meal compared to 20 percent last year.

Noam Shaked, who manages the website, said that some 8 percent of the restaurants offer a separate healthy foods menu including calorie counts of items. Even fast food chains such as McDonaldsand the popular coffee chain Aroma are providing options for diabetics and celiac sufferers. Shaked said that out of the 100 restaurant owners polled, one third said there is an increasing demand from customers for healthier menu choices.

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When you receive the hepatitis B vaccine series, your immune system is supposed to respond by producing antibodies to the hepatitis B virus. In addition, some of the immune cells that are involved in the body’s response to the vaccine become what’s known as “memory cells.” Many studies have shown, however, that in patients with celiac disease, the vaccine does not always produce adequate (or “protective”) levels of antibodies or memory cells.

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Costa Cruises is to cater for people who have the long-term digestive disorder celiac disease.

A special menu has been devised for those with celiac who have to maintain a strict gluten-free diet

The initiative has already been started on Costa Concordia and Costa Serena and will soon be extended to 11 other  ships deployed in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

Anyone with celiac disease has to make their special dietary requirements known when they make their booking.

The line has an agreement with the Italian Celiac Association (AIC) for the provision special meals. 

The collaboration includes the careful selection of products, a dedicated menu, specific training for food handlers involved in the preparation and serving of gluten-free dishes, and an internal procedure dealing with passengers affected by celiac disease.

A special gluten-free menu will be available for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Eating is generally a big focus on cruises, making many Celiacs feel discouraged from going on cruises.   I think this is a great move by Costa Cruises.

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The market for food-allergy and intolerance products is projected to reach $3.9 billion this year, according to Packaged Facts, a New York research firm. And the market for gluten-free foods and drinks is expected to hit $1.3 billion by 2010, up from $700 million in 2006, according to research firm Mintel.

An estimated 12 million people in the United States have food allergies, and another 2 million have celiac disease, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks itself when exposed to gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Those figures are expected to rise. The number of children with peanut allergies alone has doubled in the past decade. Food-induced anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction, causes about 30,000 emergency room visits and 150 to 200 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Medical experts don’t know why the number of people with food allergies is increasing. Theories include reduced contact with germs, exposure to certain environmental pollutants and, in the case of peanut allergies, the way peanuts are processed and when they are introduced into people’s diet. None of the theories is backed by much research.

“We don’t know if some of them are true or there’s some truth to all of them,” said Marshall Plaut, chief of the allergic mechanisms section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Until scientists learn more, the prescription for people with life-threatening food allergies or celiac is to avoid the foods that make them sick, a task that is getting easier.

Whereas a decade ago, the “free from” food market consisted of small manufacturers whose products were sold mainly in health-food stores, today it encompasses an ever-growing list of start-up companies, mainstream retailers such as Safeway and Giant Food, and some food industry giants such as General Mills.

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• AJC.com takes a look at how to get rid of gluten while still being a glutton. This post covers how far Celiac awareness has come and talks a bit about Gluten Free Girl’s cookbook.
• US News and World Report talks about how advances in science have aided in the treatment and diagnosis of Celiac disease. It is interesting to see what things they are working on.
• Non-Celiacs going gluten free?  At first I thought they were talking about the fad that has swept the United States of non-Celiacs being on a gluten free diet to lose weight.   After reading, though, it looks like this article is about family members of Celiac sufferers going gluten free.

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In one study, researchers found that an investigational medicine called AT-1001 may protect celiac disease patients from exposure to gluten. The drug does this by preventing gluten from crossing the intestinal mucosa.

While most people with celiac disease do well on a gluten-free diet, inadvertent exposure to gluten is the leading cause of persistent symptoms in adults with celiac disease.

The study of 86 patients found that those who were given gluten and AT-1001 had fewer symptoms of gluten toxicity than those who were given gluten and a placebo. The researchers are now conducting a larger, longer trial.

“Even allowing for the fact that people in clinical trials may practice healthier habits, the fact that all of the groups showed improvement in the first week of the study is significant and helps us to plan better celiac studies,” study author Dr. Daniel Leffler, clinical research director at the Celiac Disease Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said in a prepared statement.

“This work offers great promise for patients who, in the near future, may have a treatment that improves upon dietary restrictions alone,” Leffler added.

A second study concluded that the criteria for diagnosing celiac disease may be too stringent, meaning some patients go undiagnosed and, therefore, untreated. Current diagnostic criteria for celiac disease include small intestinal muscosal membrane villus atrophy and inflammation.

This study included 145 people suspected of having celiac disease. Of those, 71 were found to be endomysial antibody positive. Of those 71, 48 met the current criteria for celiac disease diagnosis. The other 23 patients were randomly divided into two groups — one group ate a regular diet, while the other ate a gluten-free diet. They were re-assessed after one year.

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I’m not sure I would classify it as a growing problem, but I think there is a problem with people having the disease and not knowing it.  Here is an excerpt from their post:

According to everything I’ve read, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in the small intestine that is aggravated by gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.

But after talking to Jan Falwell, who suffered unknowingly with celiac disease most of her life, I soon learned there is far more to it.

Falwell thinks she’s had the disease for more than 40 years, probably triggered by mononucleosis when she was 18.

”About 50 to 60 ­percent of the population has the gene“ that causes the ­ailment, she said, ”but there usually has to be a trigger like an operation or stress or pregnancy.“

Falwell, 60, was fortunate to be diagnosed three years ago by an Irish physician practicing locally who ­recognized the symptoms because he was familiar with the disease.

The disease is ­diagnosed more frequently in Europe. Children in Italy must ­undergo a test for the ­disease before entering school, she said.

But in the United States, she said, doctors aren’t taught how to recognize the symptoms. Plus, the ­symptoms are many, varying from one patient to another.

Where there is weight loss and diarrhea for one patient, another will have weight gain and constipation. Other symptoms are gas and bloating, fatigue, dryness throughout the body, weakness, headaches, vomiting and a failure to grow in children, to name a few.

Celiac disease is often misdiagnosed as food ­intolerance or irritable bowel syndrome. Doctors can order blood tests to check for certain antibodies that signal the disease, but Falwell said the disease usually is advanced by the time it can be detected in the blood. A positive blood test could then lead to an endoscopy and biopsy for confirmation.

Long-term health ­problems such as iron ­deficiency anemia, ­osteoporosis, ­vitamin ­deficiencies, intestinal ­cancers, and diabetes can result if left untreated.

”It wipes out the villi in the small intestines,“ Falwell said. ”Mine looks like flat linoleum instead of a shag rug.“

It is through the villi that the body absorbs nutrients. Once nutrients are no longer absorbed, myriad ­physical problems can occur.

Pharmaceutical ­companies are starting to show interest in the disease, and a new pill that helps prevent the leakage of gluten into the small intestines is being tested.

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Here is an excerpt from their post:

FDA coming to terms with “gluten-free.” The agency is working to establish a definition for “gluten-free” so that the words can be used accurately on food labels. The FDA proposal could give labeling approval to food that does not contain 20 parts per million or more gluten.

Although the allowable amounts are small, the consequences are huge for those 1 out of 100 Americans who suffer from celiac disease, the best-known form of gluten intolerance. The disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the small intestine triggered by ingesting certain storage proteins, commonly referred to as “gluten,” that naturally occur in some cereal grains.

The FDA could make a decision in August, but it is more likely the ruling with the definition will come out in September or October.

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The interesting thing about the article is some statistics they site, and the fact that many people are going to a gluten free diet even without a gluten sensitivity.  Here is an excerpt:

The cereal company’s announcement late last month comes on the heels of data from Mintel Consumer Intelligence, Chicago, that shows gluten-free new-product launches have grown significantly over the past several years.

New products bearing the gluten-free banner have more than tripled since 2004, reaching 700 in 2007, per Mintel. Through April, 341 more gluten-free products have launched. Sales of gluten-free products will hit $1.7 billion by 2010, per Spins.

I think this is great, but in the future it will only get better!

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