INDEX
- Introduction
- Symptoms
- Causes and Risk Factors
- Diagnosis
- Other articles on ‘Celiac disease’
Introduction
Celiac Disease: What is it?
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Celiac disease or celiac disease is a permanent intolerance to gluten , a complex of nitrogenous substances that forms during the dough, with water, of the flour of some cereals , such as wheat , spelled , kamut , barley , rye , spelled and triticale .
Strictly speaking, celiac disease is not a disease, but a simple condition which, in order to manifest itself, requires the simultaneous presence of a genetic predisposition and the consumption of foods containing gluten.
Symptoms
Celiac Disease: Symptoms and Complications of the Disease
Celiac disease is a subtle disease , with somewhat confused and varied symptoms; interfering with theabsorption of nutrients, in fact, it affects many organs and tissues , causing numerous negative consequences.
For this reason, celiac disease is clinically classified into different types depending on the symptoms it assumes.
In many cases, it correlates with very mild symptoms so that the patient lives with these problems for years without actually realizing the anomaly ( silent celiac disease ).
Among the symptoms most frequently related to this disease are:
- Deficiency anemiaof minerals ( iron ) or vitamins(vitamin B12 , folic acid );
- Premature osteoporosisdue to reduced calcium absorption and vitamin D deficiency which can lead in the most serious cases to bone fractures following minor trauma ;
- Oral aphthosis(the phenomenon that leads to the formation of small roundish and annoying plaques on the oral mucosa ) and more generally herpetiform dermatitis (a particular bullous lesion of the skin);
- Headachesand general malaise associated with weakness;
- Psychological problems such asanxiety, irritability anddepression;
- Abdominal bloating,colitis, intermittentdiarrhea , flatulence,cramps;
- Increase in transaminases, particularenzymesof hepatic origin.
Complications of Celiac Disease
If it is not diagnosed in time and adequately treated, celiac disease can lead to very serious phenomena especially at a young age ( typical celiac disease ).
The progressive destruction of theintestinal villi, in fact, leads to important and sometimes irreversible diseases such as infertility , repeated miscarriages , growth arrest , hypothyroidism , alopecia , diabetes and intestinal tumors .
Furthermore, celiac disease can be associated with otherautoimmune diseases suchas rhemautoidarthritis.
In addition to the end of weaning , celiac disease can arise or worsen even in adulthood due to significant physical or psychological stress (maternity, trauma and accidents, intestinal infections, surgical operations).
Gluten intolerance can be accompanied by further food allergies or intolerances such as lactose ; in these cases, the list of allowed foods is further impoverished, creating many inconveniences for the patient.
Causes and Risk Factors
Which factors favor the onset of celiac disease
First of all, it is good to remember that celiac disease occurs only, but not necessarily, in genetically predisposed individuals.
For this reason, those people who have at least one relative with celiac disease have a greater risk of contracting it.
The pathology arises more easily in the presence of other autoimmune diseases and more generally, in conditions of prolonged physical weakness.
Diet also plays a fundamental role in the onset of celiac disease and the poorer it is in gluten, the lower the risk of its onset.
Diagnosis
Tests for the Diagnosis of Celiac Disease: How to Recognize the Disease
The similarity to other diseases makes celiac disease difficult to diagnose .
Especially when it arises in adulthood , numerous specialist visits are necessary , before realizing that the origin of the disorders is linked to its presence.
In other cases, it may happen that the patient is self-convinced of the normality of the symptoms by failing to report them to the attending physician; also for this reason it is estimated that at least 300,000 Italians live with celiac disease every day without being aware of it.
Since there is a considerable increase in the production of specific antibodies in the presence of celiac disease , a simple blood test can help the diagnosis.
If the blood test is positive, only the biopsy of the intestinal epithelium can confirm the actual presence of the pathology.
This diagnostic technique is based on taking a small tissue sample by inserting a thin and long tube orally .
However , the simplest way to diagnose celiac disease is to stop taking gluten-containing foods by checking whether or not there is a regression of symptoms.
