Say Sayonara to Celiac Complications

Celiac disease is commonly known as the "gluten allergy." This disease causes an immune reaction when one consumes gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. A recent article in New Scientist, written by Michale Le Page, explains a new strain of wheat that may bring these harmful immune reactions to an end. For those people effected by the celiac disease, baking and carb consuming can be a pretty difficult thing to do. The gluten causes an attack on the small intestine, which results in unwelcoming side effects, some of which can be severe. Gliadins are the key group of gluten that causes the celiac disease to flare up. With that being said, a group of people from the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture in Spain have come up with a plan to do without. By genetically modifying a strain of wheat, they were able to remove approximately 90% of the gliadins. A technique known as RNA interference was used at first trial, which is a process that stops certain proteins from forming. CRISPR gene-editing was used second. This was a more promising approach, since this technique was able to eliminate the genes all together. The team in Spain states that they have already done away with 35 of the 45 genes of the gliadin protein genes. Thankfully, I don't have celiac disease, but I know people that do. From what I understand, gluten free products are not very appetizing. Although this is still a rather new experiment with less than 50 people participating in Mexico, I believe that this could really change things for those suffering from celiac disease in the future.

Are You Gluten-Free?

Celiac disease is characterized by a food allergy to products containing gluten, a main component in wheat. Individuals plagued with this disease often suffer from chronic vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. Sounds horrible, right? To reduce this agony, suffers are forced to follow a strict diet regimen avoiding all foods containing even the scarcest amount of wheat. Interestingly enough, this past year doctors and researchers have announced that there is a new, non-celiac gluten sensitivity condition arising in individuals across the nation. Diagnostics, long-term side effects, and complete epidemiological statistics are still not entirely known. However, there have been more and more cases involving individuals eliminating wheat and gluten products from their diets and seeing major improvements including: weight loss, reduced fatigue, clearer skin, and decrease in pre-existing food allergies. Skeptically, all of the reported positive side-effects could just be results of increased exercise, different dietary changes, and several other environmental factors. Until further medical research can confirm these results to be valid and reliable, it is suggested to remain consuming gluten normally if it does not adversely give physical symptoms.

[A gluten-free diet] is not a healthier diet for those who don’t need it,” Dr. Guandalini, [medical director at the University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Center] said. These people “are following a fad, essentially.” He added, “And that’s my biased opinion.”

Historically, gluten was only introduced 10,000 years ago into normal diets, following the rise of agriculture and farming of wheat. This can evolutionary explain why some may develop a gluten sensitivity, considering that our most primitive ancestors were never exposed to the substance. Gluten's main proteins are glutenin and gliadin, and gliadin contains "repeating patterns of amino acids that the human digestive system cannot break down." Sufferers of Celiac disease have genetic mutations which causes intestinal villi to atrophy in the presence of these proteins.  Researchers and geneticists are analyzing gliadin antibody blood samples in individuals with this new, non-celiac gluten sensitivity and are trying their hardest to find answers. Unfortunately, blood tests are of little value as they only "indicate the presence of the fragments in the blood, which can occur for a variety of reasons and do not necessarily indicate a chronic illness." It's safe to say that permanently treating this arising condition, like many others, will still have to wait until further genetic sequencing and medical research are preformed.

[For more on this article and topic, check out the following links: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/gluten-free-whether-you-need-it-or-not/& http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/features/gluten-intolerance-against-grain?page=2 ]