Abstract Title:

The spectrum of celiac disease: epidemiology, clinical aspects and treatment.

Abstract Source:

Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2010 Apr;7(4):204-13. Epub 2010 Mar 9. PMID: 20212505

Abstract Author(s):

Greetje J Tack, Wieke H M Verbeek, Marco W J Schreurs, Chris J J Mulder

Article Affiliation:

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, VU University Medical Center, P. O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. [email protected]

Abstract:

Celiac disease is a gluten-sensitive enteropathy that affects people of all ages worldwide. This disease has emerged as a major health-care problem, as advances in diagnostic and screening methods have revealed its global prevalence. Environmental factors such as gluten introduction at childhood, infectious agents and socioeconomic features, as well as the presence of HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8 haplotypes or genetic variations in several non-HLA genes contribute to the development of celiac disease. Growing insight into the variable clinical and histopathological presentation features of this disease has opened new perspectives for future research. A strict life-long gluten-free diet is the only safe and efficient available treatment, yet it results in a social burden. Alternative treatment modalities focus on modification of dietary components, enzymatic degradation of gluten, inhibition of intestinal permeability and modulation of the immune response. A small group of patients with celiac disease (2-5%), however, fail to improve clinically and histologically upon elimination of dietary gluten. This complication is referred to as refractory celiac disease, and imposes a serious risk of developing a virtually lethal enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma.

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