GlutenSensitivity.net Patient Perspectives on Gluten Grain Intolerances, Celiac Disease, and Gluten Challenges or Diagnostic Purposes

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History of Gluten Grain Intolerance

and other

important historical events and trends in health.

The purpose of this page is not only to highlight the gluten story, but also other lesser known historical medical events, trends and research that may play into the gluten syndrome and/or health in general. As societal and particularly children's health becomes a puzzlingly disturbing issue in educated, technologically focused nations, some of these previously abandoned or ignored ideas have been dusted off and reexamined.

Interwoven are factors that some researchers believe may underlie or contribute to the gluten syndrome:

Cellular vs Germ theory - Germ theory favored drugs and processed food over health and wholeness.

Processed Food - Wheat and milk resemble each other molecularly and are significantly processed.

Toxins - Toxins are fingered as the "big guns" in the gluten syndrome.

Fat trends - Fats handle toxins, affect gut cell membrane, help digest grains, and carry fat soluble vitamins.

Sugar/Carb/Yeast debate - Sugars and yeasts contribute to gut dysfunction and immune cross reactions.

Here is a bookmarked table of contents for easy reference. In order for the bookmarks to work, the links in which

they belong must be clicked open.

Ancient History - Early descriptions of digestive complaints

1700's BC - Digestive and related medical problems are mentioned in very ancient documents such as the book of Exodus 23:25, 26 (BC 1700)

And

"And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst (ie middle or can be 'bowels') of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfill."

100's - 250? AD approximately - Aretaeus the Cappadocian - Secular medical literature alludes to descriptions that specifically resemble gluten or possibly other food intolerances in writings from 100 AD, when a Greek physician, Archaeus the Cappadocian described "The Coeliac Affection". Francis Adams translated his description from Greek to English in 1856 for the Syndenham Society of England and translated the Greek term "koiliakos" to the more accurate European term "coeliac". "Celiac" is the less specific American version. They simply mean "belly or abdominal". (Medical Meanings by William S. Haubrich p. 43) Below is an Aretaeus quote from Digital Hippocrates : The Extant works of Aretaeus the Cappadocian. (picture at left)

ON THE CŒLIAC AFFECTION.

THE stomach being the digestive organ, labours in digestion, when diarrhœa seizes the patient. Diarrhœa consists in the discharge of undigested food in a fluid state; and if this does not proceed from a slight cause of only one or two days' duration; and if, in addition, the patient's general system be debilitated by atrophy of the body, the Cœliac disease of a chronic nature is formed, from atony of the heat which digests, and refrigeration of the stomach, when the food, indeed, is dissolved in the heat, but the heat does not digest it, nor convert it into its proper chyme, but leaves its work half finished, from inability to complete it; the food then being deprived of this operation, is changed to a state which is bad in colour, smell, and consistence. For its colour is white and without bile; it has an offensive smell, and is flatulent; it is liquid, and wants consistence from not being completely elaborated, and from no part of the digestive process having been properly done except the commencement.

Wherefore they have flatulence of the stomach, continued eructations, of a bad smell; but if these pass downwards, the bowels rumble, evacuations are flatulent, thick, fluid, or clayey, along with the phantasy, as if a fluid were passing through them; heavy pain of the stomach now and then, as if from a puncture; the patient emaciated and atrophied, pale, feeble, incapable of performing any of his accustomed works. But if he attempt to walk, the limbs fail; the veins in the temples are prominent, for owing to wasting, the temples are hollow; but also over all the body the veins are enlarged, for not only does the disease not digest properly, but it does not even distribute that portion in which the digestion had commenced for the support of the body; it appears to me, therefore, to be an affection, not only of the digestion, but also of the distribution.

But if the disease be on the increase, it carries back the matters from the general system to the belly, when there is wasting of the constitution; the patients are parched in the mouth, surface dry and devoid of sweat, stomach sometimes as if burnt up with a coal, and sometimes as if congealed with ice. Sometimes also, along with the last scybala, there flows bright, pure, unmixed blood, so as to make it appear that the mouth of a vein has been opened; for the acrid discharge corrodes the veins. It is a very protracted and intractable illness; for, even when it would seem to have ceased, it relapses again without any obvious cause, and comes back upon even a slight mistake. Now, therefore, it returns periodically.

This illness is familiar to old persons, and to women rather than to men. Children are subject to continued diarrhœa, from an ephemeral intemperance of food; but in their case the disease is not seated in the cavity of the stomach. Summer engenders the disease more than any other of the seasons; autumn next; and the coldest season, winter, also, if the heat be almost extinguished. This affection, dysentery and lientery, sometimes are engendered by a chronic disease. But, likewise, a copious draught of cold water has sometimes given rise to this disease.

300 AD - A Roman physician - described a diarrheal condition similar to celiac disease, for which he suggested plantain juice and fasting. Management of Celiac Disease - SV and MP Haas, JB Lippincott Co., Philadelphia (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Elaine Gottschall)

1745 - Prince Charles Young Pretender to the Enlish throne is reported to have suffered ulcerative colitis and recovered on a milk free diet. Cereals and Schizophrenia - data and hypothesis. Acta Psychiatry Scandinavia 42:125-152. (from Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Elaine Gottschall)

Close: Ancient History

The 1800's - Cellular vs. Germ theory debate and Samuel Gee

The following paragraph is a quote thanks to Dr Stefano Guandalini, MC, U of Chicago Celiac Disease Center IMPACT newsletter, summer 2007, Vol 7 Issue 3. Click for his detailed full article

Matthew Baillie - In the early 19th century, a Dr. Mathew Baillie probably unaware of Aretaeus, published his observations of a "diarrheal disease of adults causing malnutrition and characterized by gas - distended abdomen. He even went on to suggest dietetic treatment, writing, "Some patients have appeared to derive considerable advantage form living almost entirely upon rice. His observations, however, went practically unnoticed.

Underlying concepts that fundamentally influence research today.

Germ theory vs Cellular theory - By the mid 1800's the invention of stronger microscopes afforded researchers a new view of microbiology. Two well known French scientists, Louis Pasteur and Antoine Bechamp both saw the same images under their microscopes but interpreted what they saw differently. Their opposing ideas were a subject of debate in the French Medical Society for the rest of the century. They both passed away around the turn of the 20th century. The opposing camps of opinion held a "showdown" in which each presented proofs. It is believed by some cellular theorists today that the cellular (or soil) theory proofs were bungled and mainstream science adopted Pasteur's germ theory as the basis interpretation of research until the present. However, predictions of the cellular theorists have come true and some research today appears to support some of these ideas.

Louis Pasteur 1822 - 1895, France - A well known historical figure and French government scientist, Louis Pasteur believed the strange shapes he saw under his microscope were various "germs". A specific germ always appeared with a specific disease. He postulated that they were responsible for that specific disease, and should be eliminated. When they were "killed" the disease disappeared. Between 1850 and 1900 he developed immunizations or “biologicals” to combat these "germs", and introduced pasteurization of poor quality, infected milk in order to heat kill "germs" in the milk. A search for drugs and methods to destroy these "germs" has become the focus of research to this day.

Antoine Bechamp 1816 - 1908, France - Independent researchers including respected and capable Antonie Bechamp, a peer of Pasteur, disagreed with Pasteur’s interpretations. Bechamp and others they believed the "microbes" morphed depending on their environment and the "job" they needed to perform. They believed deterioration and disease was created by poor conditions, such as toxins, inadequate nutrition, rest, fresh air, etc. The microbes morphed and appeared when needed in the form required to act as "janitors" or to perform other duties. They were blamed for the disease because they were always found on the scene. This is similar to blaming the fireman, policeman or garbage collector for the fire because he is there to deal with some aspect of the fire. These microbes produced excretions of their own that often caused symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, etc., which caused waste products and toxins to ultimately be removed from the body. Therefore, "killing" the microbes does often stop symptoms. However this leaves the original cleanup work unfinished and if the underlying deficiency or toxin is allowed to advance, further deterioration may prompt microbes to return in worse forms later, to "scavage" a worse mess. Bechamp and others predicted that "germ theories" would send research on a wrong turn. Bechamp's final treatise "The Third Element of the Blood" explains and defends his position.

The following paragraph is a quote thanks to Dr Stefano Guandalini, MC, U of Chicago Celiac Disease Center IMPACT newsletter, summer 2007, Vol 7 Issue 3. Click for his detailed full article

Samuel Gee, 1839 - 1911, London, England - and it was for the English doctor Samuel Gee, a leading authority in pediatric diseases, to take full credit for the modern description of celiac disease some 75 years later, when he gave a lecture to medical students on the "celiac affection," the milestone description of this disorder in modern times.

Like Baillie, Gee sensed that "if the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet." He added that "the allowance of farinaceous food must be small", and also described "a child who was fed upon a quart of the best Dutch mussels daily, throve wonderfully, but relapsed when the season for mussels was over; next season he could not be prevailed upon to take them." Thus he documents the improvement following the introduction of a gluten-free diet, and the relapse after reintroduction of gluten. His famous quote, "We must never forget that what the patient takes beyond his ability to digest does harm."

Samuel Gee's description of coeliac disease is as follows. "There is a kind of chronic indigestion which is met with in persons of all ages, yet is especially apt to affect children between one a five years old. Signs of the disease are yielded by the fæces; being loose, not formed, but not watery; more bulky than the food taken would seem to account for; pale in colour, as if devoid of bile; yeasty, frothy, an appearance probably due to fermentation; stinking, stench often very great, the food having undergone putrefaction rather than concoction."

Quote Dr Guandalini

As the decades passed, there was still no clue as to what could be causing celiac disease and no hint (in spite of autopsies frequently performed given the high mortality rate) of the damage to the intestinal mucosa. Yet some of the present-day findings, which we tend to consider as recent advances, were indeed well known long ago, including that celiac disease could be present without diarrhea, the protective role of breast-feeding in the development and severity of celiac disease, only recently documented, and the increased incidence in families, particularly twins.

Close: The 1800s

1900's - 1950's Degeneration Studies, Carbs vs Protein (Gluten) Debate

Processed foods appear followed by widespread degeneration of societal health

Professionals who practiced between 1900 and 1930 observed such a sharp decline in public health and a rise in digestive disorders, heart conditions and many others that some of them set out to find answers. They and also many missionaries and explorers were impressed by the contrast in health between peoples who still subsisted on centuries old dietary practices dictated by their local environments, and the deteriorating health of western civilizations. Modern societies had switched to “displacing foods of modern commerce”, mainly processed white flours and sugars, canned milk, meats and vegetables, and new hydrogenated vegetable oils such as the 1911 introduction of “Crisco.”

This research not specifically gluten focused - but on the general effects of processed food in societies around the world.
Dr. Weston A Price DDS (1870-1948) - One careful researcher, a respected Cleveland dentist, Dr. Weston A. Price, traveled to many isolated cultures in the 1930's to observe these peoples, their diets, food preparation methods, and their overall health. He lined up villages to count cavities, made notes on general health, and took food and saliva samples back to his laboratory. He found 11 consistent dietary and cultural similarities between these very diverse isolated peoples around the world. He also found overall better health in the traditional cultures, and fine, straight teeth set in wide faces, with dental arches that had plenty of room for wisdom teeth, and very low incidences of cavities. He also observed a heartbreaking decline in overall health, susceptibility to illness, and “dental deformities”, meaning narrowed dental arches and crowded crooked teeth, other physical degradations, and many degenerative health conditions wherever these peoples came in contact with civilization and adopted modern foods. Other researchers of his era who performed similar studies had parallel findings. Brochure

Dr. Francis Pottenger MD (1901 - 1967) studied over 900 cats in the 1930's in Los Angeles, CA. His interest was to discover the effects of heat processed foods vs. raw food on cats. Dr. Pottenger found that the health of the cats degenerated significantly with each generation they consumed processed food, particularly since cooking destroys taurine, an amino acid needed by cats (and humans but to lesser degree) Dr. Price and Dr. Pottenger's final research conclusions were that "adoption of the "displacing foods of modern commerce," was disastrous for all groups studied" Simply put, "Processed food is NOT OK" Research today on the effects of processed wheat supports this conclusion. Note: This file contains 2 articles. Scroll to the top for the Vojdani article.

The carbohydrates vs gluten debate (sugar/starch vs protein)

As digestive disorders and many other health conditions increased, much excellent research was performed between 1900 and 1950. In the 1950's a debate among professionals arose over the role of carbs vs. protein (gluten) that exists to this day. Perhaps all sides are correct to some degree depending on the case. (Later, by the 1980's, "most carbohydrates and sugars" were fingered in overgrowth and treatment of candida/yeast issues.) Some researchers:

1. focused on permanent removal of certain grain proteins - Gluten Free Diet.

2. focused on temporary removal of specific carbohydrates (sugar, starch) - Specific Carbohydrate Diet

3. focused on temporary removal of all sugars and starches - Candida/Yeast Diets More candida diets

Carbohydrate research came first. Reference, Breaking the Vicious Cycle, Elaine Gottschall

Between 1900 and 1950 several researchers and their assistants handed off their work from one to to the other as they passed on. They all focused on starches and sugars.

1908 - Drs. Emmett Holt Sr, Bellevue Hospital and Christian Herter, Columbia University published "On Infantilism from Chronic Intestinal Infection". Remarkably they proposed that the nervous system was a main target of the disease and that "the most frequent cause of relapses is the attempt to encourage growth by the use of increased amounts of carbohydrates."

1921 - Drs. John Howland and Sydney V. Haas. Dr. Howland and Haas were Dr. Holt's younger assistants at the Vanderbilt clinic and were inspired to carry on his work. Dr. Howland presented his paper "Prolonged Intolerance to Carbohydrates" in 1921 to the American Pediatric Society. Again, he focused on removal of carbohydrates.

Dr. Sidney Valentine Haas 1870 -1964 Dr. Haas agreed with his colleague Dr. Howland, but he searched for carbohydrates that agreed with his patients to increase their nutrition. He discovered bananas and banana flour worked well and he continued to develop a diet which included fruits and vegetables containing monosaccarides only (very simple sugar molecules that required no digestion).

Sidney Haas and his professional forebears all focused on problematic undigested starches and sugars in grains, starchy vegetables, refined sugars and other complex carbohydrates with claims of 600 cures. http://www.scdiet.org/7archives/scdceli1.html One year after Sidney Haas published his research on carb digestion, attention turned away from carbohydrates to focus on only the gluten (protein) in only certain grains. Soon after this debate arose, however, Herb and Elaine Gottschall appeared on the scene, Dr. Haas passed, and Elaine Gottschall continued Dr. Haas' work.

Herb and Elaine Gottschall, parents of 8 year old Judy, found Dr. Haas, age 92 in New York. Judy was scheduled for colon removal but his recommendations saved need for surgery and probably spared Judy's life. Herb sent Elaine back to school to discover why Dr. Haas' diet succeeded when all the other doctors failed. Elaine attended university 19 years, became a biochemist, and continued Dr. Haas' work. She formulated the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, (SCD), in it's present form, which removes not only all gluten grains, but all grains, and other foods which contain certain complex sugars. This or similar diets beyond the gluten free diet are increasingly used today by patients with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, autistic children and other digestive and psyschiatric disorders. She claims, as did Dr. Haas, that this diet can in some cases completely cure patients to a degree that they can reintroduce healthy forms of grains and starches. Elaine made it clear that this diet helps many but not all patients.

Attention turns from carbs to protein (gluten) - World War 2 - 1950's

Dr. Willem Dicke, 1905 - 1962, Holland a Dutch pediatrician, had previously noted that some sick children in his practice improved during World War 2 when gluten grains were unavailable, and deteriorated when these grains were again available.

Here is another quote from Dr. Guandalini - "Dicke had noticed that during bread shortages in the Netherlands caused by World War II, children with celiac disease improved. He also saw that when Allied planes dropped bread into the Netherlands, they quickly deteriorated. A few years later, working with others, he produced a series of seminal papers, documenting for the first time the role that gluten from wheat and rye plays in celiac disease.

This quote thanks to the ww.csaceliac.org website Dr. Willem Karel Dicke, a Dutch pediatrician, recognized in 1952 that the disease is caused by the ingestion of wheat proteins. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject for the University of Utrecht in 1950. By 1954, Dicke, Charlotte Anderson and a number of their colleagues, working in Birmingham, England confirmed the treatment and described the histologic damage to the intestinal mucosa as being directly related to celiac disease.

Here is another quote from Dr. Guandalini- The next major breakthrough came in the mid-50s, when Margot Shiner described a new jejunal biopsy apparatus with which she successfully reached and biopsied the distal duodenum. This – and the development of the less cumbersome capsule developed shortly after by the American Lieutenant Colonel Crosby -- finally allowed doctors to link the disease with a specific, recognizable pattern of damage to the proximal small intestinal mucosa."

NOTE: The carb vs protein (gluten) debate is important! It is worth the time to read both sides and apply the information to one's own situation. Perhaps carbs and/or gluten are both problems depending on the case. Some patients begin with the Gluten Free Diet and later go further to the stricter Specific Carbohydrate Diet or a Candida/Yeast Diet or other similar carbohydrate based diets. Here are papers from both sides to compare:

The carbohydrate perspective by Elaine Gottschall

The protein (gluten) perspective by Dr. Stephano Guandalini

(By the 1970's another even stricter diet appeared, the Candida/Yeast Diet and versions of it. )

The candida/yeast perspective - Dr. William Crook and Bee Wilder's Candida support program

Coming - More circa 1930's research Much fascinating research was performed between 1900 and 1950 which has been ignored or forgotten as corporate and industrial interests powered the direction of science, medicine and politics. This list does not include a number of these scientists passed over by mainstream medical history. They may have important contributions to a better understanding of our current health crisis. As time permits, short biographies of these researchers will be added to this page.

Later 1950's - Gluten focused, villi damage celiac is assumed "rare", and nearly forgotten

The gluten centered perspective led to a 1950's diagnostic criteria for "celiac" disease, based on an autoimmune reaction limited to gluten based grains. Symptoms included diarrhea, short stature, failure to thrive, frothy pale stools, and general digestive troubles. At first diagnosis was symptom based, but soon endoscopes and blood tests appeared and diagnosis was further limited to only positive antibodies,villi damage and villi regrowth on the gluten free diet. Sometimes a gluten challenge was required document regression and villi regrowth a second time for final diagnosis.

Unfortunately, only a few of the many patients ill with digestive complaints fit the exceedingly narrow celiac criteria. Attention turned away from carbohydrates AND gluten for several decades. Paradoxically, digestive illness continued to rise, but "Celiac disease" was thought to be extremely rare in the United States. Medical students received minimal training (20 minutes), and were told they would probably never see a case in their practice. Therefore US doctors knew of celiac disease but rarely considered or tested for it. Patients waited an average of 11 years for diagnosis if they were ever diagnosed at all. Many of these unfortunate sufferers were labeled with a catch all term, "Irritable Bowel Syndrome", and advised to manage their particular symptoms with antidiarrheals, antacids and constipation aids. Non digestive ailments such as headaches, seizures, autoimmunity, inflammation or nutritional deficiencies were rarely connected at all. It was nearly the year 2000 before this situation changed in the US.

Close: 1900s - 1950s

1960's - 2000 Industrialized fast food vs. Back to the Earth movement

Chemical and toxin use in agriculture and processed food - After World War 2 and subsequent wars, left over chemical warfare products were put to use as agricultural insecticides. Chemicals and thousands of artificial substances in agriculture, the food supply and environment increased dramatically over the years. NOW they are fingered as relevant by segments of the gluten syndrome and autism communities and other health groups. Many researchers insist that while genes predispose and may explain the occasional case of gluten reactivity in previous centuries, perhaps still in combination with toxic exposures, TOXINS themselves are the "big guns" today. Toxins are now thought by many researchers to degrade the gut wall and expose a much higher percentage of the general population to an immune response to gluten.

1960's - Hippies demanded organics and unprocessed grains such as whole wheat during the "Back to the Earth" movement. Although the hippies realized food processing robbed them of nutrition they did not consider that their whole wheat had been harvested dry with modern equipment. It was not exposed to the elements as in the old days when shocks stayed out in weather and were built with a "cap" to "sweat" the grains. Thus the exposure to moisture and subsequent drying in the sun neutralized phytotoxins in the bran, and released enzymes inside the kernel that assist the body in digestion of the grain. The whole grain movement of the 1960's milled unsoaked grain with phytotoxins still in the bran, and then due to the 1970's lowfat trend, reduced the fats eaten with it that aid grain digestion. Furthermore hydrogenated margarine was often substituted for natural traditional butter. See Wheaty Indiscretions WAPF

1970's - Low Fat-No fat-Vegetable oils - Natural saturated animal and tropical fats were demonized, (butter animal fat, coconut oil and palm oil) and replaced with processed liquid and hydrogenated vegetable oils containing transfats. These were claimed more "heart healthy" even though huge research projects such as the Framing ham Heart Study showed otherwise. Some patients today trace their digestive problems back to when they jumped on the whole wheat, low fat bandwagon in the early '70's. Interestingly, after the low fat trend became established, the fat soluble Vitamin E awareness fad began. See The Oiling of America

1970's - European doctors caught on to protein/gluten based celiac disease in the 1970’s and diagnosis rates climbed accordingly. While an American patient waited on the average for 11 years for a celiac diagnosis, if they were fortunate enough to be diagnosed at all, eventually a European patient was identified in only a few weeks.

1980's - Interest in sugar, carbohydrates and yeast/candida related illnesses reappeared in the US with "Sugar Blues" 1975, by William Dufty, and "The Yeast Connection", 1986, by William G. Crook.

1990's - The Four Food Groups were replaced by the Food Pyramid with grains on the bo

replaced in 1992 by the Food Pyramid with o grains on the bottom and fats at the top.

History of US Dietary Recommendations

1990's - Early 1990's An expanded vaccination schedule for infants and children was put in place and enlarged upon in the ensuing years . A debate arose thereafter over Thimerosal (a mercury based disinfectant) and other additives as well as the safety of some of the vaccinations themselves, as the rates of autism in children rose dramatically.

1990's - Cell phone coverage and other forms of electrosmog such as wireless internet, cordless phones, microwaves, and other exposures grew steadily throughout the 1990's and until present until most of the United States is now exposed to cell phone radiation. Research on the health benefits/dangers of cell phone and electrosmog exposure brings deeply troubling issues to light including concerns that the gut and blood brain barriers may be altered by such radiation. This is of direct concern to the gluten syndrome and allergy/intolerant communities as disturbed tight junctions between gut and other barrier cells is a major instigator of gluten reactivities.

1992's - The US was challenged in the early 1990's and forced to hear the "celiac story" in 2003 - Dr. Alesio Fasano, a young gastroenterologist from Naples, Italy, joined the University of Maryland research team in the early 1990’s. He ran a routine search in the University of Maryland hospital computer for the number of celiacs diagnosed in the past 10 years. To his astonishment, the search returned one case. His reaction, “Where are the American Celiacs?” He refused to be deterred by colleagues who insisted "It's not here in America." Alesio's courageous insistence that many Americans do have "celiac disease", backed by prompt diagnosis of patients under his care led to a 5 year study to establish prevalence rates in the US. The project included approximately 15,000 patients across 32 states. At the end of the study, Dr. Fasano was right. New figures showed that 1 in 133 Americans sampled from the healthy population, and 1 in 56 in the symptomatic population had villi damaged celiac disease. They were 97% undiagnosed! The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Feb, 2003. Subsequent studies support 1 : 100 in the healthy population. Dr. Alesio Fasano, left, Rich Gannon, right

1996 - New organisms in the food supply - Genetically modified crops were first grown in the United States in 1996. These new foods entered the world market unlabeled. They attracted attention more quickly in the UK and Europe, and were labeled "Frankenfoods" in a storm of protest, but it was nearly 7 years before the US began to notice their presence.

1996 - Mario Hadjivassiliou - published an article of gluten and neurology Does cryptic gluten sensitivity play a part in neurological illness? Feb 1996

Close: 1960s - 2000

2000 - Degeneration, toxins, GMO's, gluten awareness vs organic trends

By the turn of the century, autoimmunity, degenerative disease, obesity, autism, ADD, diabetes, cancer digestive and mental illnesses were obviously on the rise. Children's health was an increasing concern. In response, the movement back to sustainable organic agriculture and Weston Price style traditional dietary habits began to gain ground rapidly. Local organic sources became more easily available and trendy.

2000 - Dr. Ken Fine opened Enterolab in Dallas Texas to research the gluten syndrome and make available to the public a home stool test by mail order.

2003 - Seeds of Deception was published, a call to arms regarding genetically modified crops. Jeffrey Smith, an employee at a genetics lab, spawned a wave of awareness and unease regarding gmo's and diet in general.

2003 - Prevalence of Celiac Disease in At- Risk and Not-At-Risk Groups in the United States was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol 163, February 10, 2003 286-292 Relief was finally on the way for many celiac sufferers in the United States, but as is often the case the story was not as simple as it first appeared. Confusion and disjointed dynamics often occurred as the media, medical community and general public were made aware of this disease simultaneously. Medical practitioners in many disciplines were forced to scramble for new information as patients approached them for tests and treatment. Understandably many doctors brushed off their patient's requests to be tested. Indeed many patients who were sure they would turn up positive tests, in fact did not, even patients who already suspected gluten was a problem. Laboratories that rarely ran celiac screens were deluged with sensitive tests that their operators were not experienced enough to run properly or interpret accurately. Much frustrating effort was expended by celiac specialists to educate their professional colleagues. Often they were initially ignored or worse, deprecated, by their peers. Doctors who responded and learned quickly were appreciatively dubbed by some support groups as "heads up doctors". All of our celiac and gluten syndrome specialists have worked very hard and taken a beating to bring this syndrome to our attention.

2004 - A drug for the gluten syndrome? - Dr. Fasano and a team of scientists formed Alba Therapeutics to develop a genetically modified (recombinant) drug which is currently in testing to begin to treat the gluten syndrome. The drug works by manipulating a chemical they recently discovered and named "Zonulin". Zonulin controls the opening and closing of "gateways" in the gut wall which allow certain items to pass across the gut wall into the body. In the presence of inflammation, high levels of zonulin change may cause these "gateways" to malfunction and allow molecules such as undigested gluten to slip into places they are not intended to be and then the immune system reacts. The drug is currently being testing on real celiac patients, but it is not ready for market at this time. It is not intended to replace the gluten free diet but for occasional use in unusual situations. (Feb 2009)

Why so many negative testers who respond to the diet? Meanwhile, to complicate matters, as word of the new research spread among newly diagnosed celiac patients, some family members had no symptoms at all but were tested anyway since the disease often has a genetic component. In many cases they tested positive (antibodies and damaged villi) with no hint of symptoms, and were labeled "silent celiacs". In other cases symptomatic family members and friends realized they also had many symptoms of celiac disease. However many of them tested negatively for the antibodies or villi damage required for formal diagnosis. Some of them tried the diet and many discovered that indeed they improved. Others, confused by their negative tests, gave up the gluten free diet even though they felt better, or never tried the diet at all. Still others went gluten free sometimes with dramatic improvement, but intentionally went back to gluten for a period of weeks or months in order to be tested. They did this to obtain their “magic celiac diagnosis”, to socially confirm their need for this “funny diet”. Unfortunately, those patients often found the “gluten challenge” very very miserable and some have been damaged by it. Their bodies seemed much more sensitized to the effects of gluten the second time around. Unfortunately, many of these non celiac gluten syndrome patients who had already discovered they should avoid gluten, received negative test (antibody and biopsy), despite misery during and even after their gluten challenge. Many were misled back to their old problems on a gluten diet. Others listened to their body's clear messages and went gluten free permanently anyway.

2005 - Non celiac gluten syndrome patients appear to comprise a majority of the gluten reactive community. Unfortunately, comparatively little research has been performed on this puzzling group of patients. For decades ALL research on gluten intolerance was performed on biopsy diagnosed celiacs. Many doctors recognized that their negative testing patients improved on a gluten free diet, but they hesitated or refused to recommend a strict gluten free diet with no research or diagnostic criteria to back up their diagnosis. This left most a majority of gluten intolerant patients in a medical “No Man’s Land”, forced to make their own decisions as best they could determine. Often this undiagnosed state led to poor compliance and further deterioration of health. A concern arose that more patients were misled by the celiac story as understood at the time than those who had villi damage and received a celiac diagnosis.

2005 - The continuing carbohydrate story - Elaine Gottschall peacefully passed away September 5, 2005, age 84. Elaine is the courageous mom who went back to college at age 47 at her husband's urging after Dr. Sidney Haas' specific carbohydrate diet healed their 8 year old daughter Judy. Before her death she finally was afforded the recognition she well earned for her help to many many persons suffering from a range of disorders including autism, crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and many many others. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is gluten free but goes beyond and focuses instead on the types of sugars and carbohydrates in the diet. The SCD Diet is used extensively in biomedical autism circles. As with most other diets, it clearly helps many but not all patients. Personal tribute Obituary

2006 - New labeling laws aid patients with allergies and intolerances. - new labeling laws went into effect January 2006. They required the 8 top US allergens to be clearly labeled on all food items. This list included wheat, soy, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts. This litigation helped gluten intolerant patients partly but not completely since barley, rye and oats were not included in the list. Further amendments are still in progress and the definition of "gluten free" was still undetermined. The general skeptical public was forced to take gluten more seriously when they saw gluten and wheat labeled on their food products.

Dec, 2006 - New York city banned transfats in unpackaged food. A major victory for Mary Enig and peers, who worked to document and raise awareness of transfat dangers since the 1960's. (The Rise and Fall of Crisco)

"Interesterification" quickly replaced transfats, unlabeled. Some researchers have expressed concern that interesterified fats do not contain transfats, but do still contain an artificially changed molecule that the body has never seen. These fats are found in vegetable oils that are processed into a partially hardened, soft spread state, ie no longer in their liquid state. Some researchers recommend that butter, virgin coconut or palm oil, or naturally raised animal fat be used in place of vegetable oils and soft tub fats or margarines. Articles that explain interesterified fats are sometimes noncommittal as to their effects.

Transfats are not required to be labeled if their weight per serving is under .5 gram. Therefore it is easier to check ingredients by looking for hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Interesterified fats are still hydrogenated but do not contain transfats. Almost all baked goods contain processed hardened or partially hardened vegetable oils.

2008 - Statistically about 30% of patients diagnosed with villi damage do not improve on the gluten free diet alone, or they may improve at first and then some of their issues return. They usually find they need to severely reduce their intake of gluten free substitutes. They are still mostly junk foods. Some folks remove all grains, or do the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, a Candida, or Body Ecology type diet and often they switch to organic, more raw foods, and a Weston Price based dietary lifestyle. Processed and fast foods gradually are abandoned for fresh farm products and more homemade meals. Toxic cleaners, personal care items, and often plastics, microwaves and wireless devices also are replaced with greener and healthier alternatives. Many patients find that going gluten free is the start of a lifestyle revamp, and once they go gluten free the other changes come easier. Many also find nutritionally oriented professionals to help them treat problems that the gluten damage triggered such as nutrient loss.

A celiac vaccine? Clinical trials were to start in 2008. Update here. Website: www.nexpep.com.au

2009 - The non celiac gluten syndrome hordes are out of the closet. "Self diagnosis" is no longer perceived as wishful thinking by most of the gluten syndrome community. Even the most staunch "celiac" specialists admit this huge group exists, although they still mostly teach that non celiac gluten reactivity is not autoimmune. Other researchers emphatically insist it IS often autoimmune, and clinically many in the gluten syndrome community fit this concept. There is published research on the non celiac gluten syndrome situation but it is not well known in the gluten syndrome community. The following section is devoted to that area of study and the researchers and educators behind it. As the "fog lifts" on this phenomenon, there is not perfect agreement, but it is exciting to watch this drama unfold as our scientists, practitioners and patients work together to put the pieces into the puzzle.

2007 update Return to top

Many more antibodies to test and the more tested the more patients test positive.

Several labs now offer tests for additional antibodies (beyond gliadin and tTG). They also check more places in the immune system for these antibodies. Current testing shows that many patients have one antibody but not another depending on their situation. Therefore some researchers believe all the known antibodies should be checked in all possible places. Dr. Thomas O'Bryan DC, CCN, DACBN checked all the known antibodies, including wheat, gliadin, gluten, gluteomorphins, and ttG, all IgA, IgG, and IgM, in all his patients (350+ patients) over 3 years, and achieved a 77% positivity rate for some gluten related antibody.

Research also indicates that there are known glutenins for which there are no tests at this time.

The more antibodies tested, the more patients test positive for immune response.

The more complete panels of antibodies include:

Gluten itself IgA, IgG, IgM - the whole gluten molecule

Gliadin AGA IgA, IgG, IgM - a piece of gluten

Gluteomorphins IgA, IgG, IgM - a molecule that forms when gluten breaks down incorrectly.

Wheat - IgA, IgG, IgMthe whole kernel - This ensures that anything not discovered in wheat is tested.

tTG IgA, IgG, IgM- an enzyme that elevates in some gluten syndrome reactions (the celiac villi process)

The additional places in the immune system include:

IgA - Some celiac tests check gliadin IgA, many don't.

IgG - Some celiac tests check gliadin IgG, Many don't.

IgM - Very few labs check any IgM antibodies.

At this time, these labs offer at least some of these additional tests in various combinations.

ALCAT - tests reactions of white blood cells to gliadin, gluten, wheat, others. A controversial test..

Elisa/ACT Biotechnologies - observes lymphocyte reaction and checks gluten, gliadin, wheat, etc

Immunosciences Labs - panels of ALL known antibodies, currently reorganizing

Optimum Health Resource - gliadin, wheat, gluten, and other substances, - IgG or IgA panels

Furthermore,

Enterolab offers stool tests which do not test additional antibodies, but this test returns much higher rates of positives than the same tests in blood and claims a higher sensitivity.. This test is based on announced but unpublished research.

See Lab Charts page for current panels.

Close: Many more antibodies

2008 Many more places for tissue damage beside, not necessarily including, villi.

2008 - Attention has finally turned to gluten and neurological issues.

Neurological tissue is very very susceptible to gluten related damage according to more and more researchers. Furthermore some say that if nerves are silenced by damage there may be little warning until there is organ or function failure.

Check out these published quotes:

"The immune response triggered by sensitivity to gluten may find expression in organs other than the gut and the central and peripheral nervous systems are particularly susceptible." - M. Hadjivassiliou, 1997 see reference below - Neuromuscular Disorder as a Presenting Feature of Coeliac Disease

"Neurologic disorders or findings were found in 51.4% of patients with Celiac Disease" - Pediatrics Vol 113 No 6, June 2004 Nathanel Zelnik

"Two female patients presented with cognitive decline that was attributed to Alzheimer's dementia but ameliorated after the initition of gluten free diet. The third patient had peripheral neuropathy that completely resolved after initiation of the gluten free diet." Celiac Disease Diagnosed in the Elderly - J Clin Gastroenterol Vol 42, No. 1, Jan. 2008 Yoav Lurie MD, Dan-Avi Landau, MD, Jorge Pfeffer MD,and Ran Oran, MD Reprints: Yoav Lurie Gastroenterology Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Weizmann 6, Tel Aviv 64239, Israel

"Patients with neurological disease of unknown etiology were found to have a much higher prevalence of circulating antigliadin antibodies (57%) in their blood than either healthy control subjects (12%) or those with neurological disorders of known etiology (5%)." M. Hadjivassiliou Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness. See full reference below

"Mean age of ataxial onset was 48 years old" Gluten Ataxia in Perspective - M. Hadjivassiliou, Brain (2003), 126, 685-691) See full reference below

PubMed research - Gluten related neurological damage is now recognized as extensive by a number of researchers. For an overview of published articles, go to www.pubmed.gov and type search term combinations such as "neurologic, or neurological, or brain, or CNS, or MBP, or cerebellar" and "gluten, or celiac, or coeliac".

Aristo Vojdani Neurology research and editorials

Mario Hadjivassiliou, Neurology, editorials here:

Close: 2008 - Gluten and neurological issues.

2009 - GMO beet sugar has hit the market.

Close: 2000's

List of celiac specialists in the US in 2003

These few Celiac specialists worked hard to spread the word among their peers and treat a deluge of newly informed patients. Several of them identified celiac disease many years ahead of the 2003 research. These experts are mainly focused on celiac villi damage. Some have moved beyond to accept non celiac gluten syndrome. At this time most believe it is not autoimmune, and still recommend the tTG screener and villi or skin biopsy for dx of celiac disease.

They are all heroes and deserve our deep appreciation and respect.

Alesio Fassano MD - U of Maryland - Contact here

Dr. Fasano's insistence that indeed celiac disease is here in the United States and his persistance in proving his case paid off for thousands of Americans suffering the consequences of undiagnosed gluten related ills. Dr. Fasano originally moved from Naples, Italy to Baltimore, Maryland in the early 1990's to research children's diarrheal diseases. That research led to discovery of zonulin, a tight junction regulator that influences permeability of various mucosal and tissue barriers including the gut and brain barriers. Building upon this discovery he is now involved in development of a drug (AT 1001) that may be useful in various autoimmune disorders such as celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. Dr. Fasano recognizes that a large number of the patients he sees react to gluten. Celiac Disease update, Dec 2008, by Dr. Fasano.

Dr. Peter Green MD - U of Columbia - Contact here

Dr. Green is one of the few specialists in the country who treated celiac disease before Dr. Fasano's research project brought the disorder to public attention. He was diagnosing patients in 1981, established and directed the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University in 2001. Dr. Green's book, "Celiac Disease: a Hidden Epidemic 2006 is a "friendly" guide to the many aspects of this disorder and is recommended reading. Dr. Green acknowledges non celiac gluten sensitivity in his book and in practice.

Dr. Joseph Levy MD - Children's Digestive Health Center - New York Contact here

Dr Levy is Director of the Children's Digestive Health Center at the Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian in New York. He is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is on staff at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University.

Dr. Cynthia Rudert MD - Atlanta - Contact here

Dr. Rudert is a gastroenterologist in private practice in Altanta, Georgia. She graduated University of Louisville, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY in 1979 with postgraduate Gastroenterology training at Emory University Hospital. Dr. Rudert is a tireless supporter of the gluten syndrome/celiac cause, and popular speaker at conferences and support groups. She maintains a sympathetic and supportive stance to her non celiac gluten syndrome patients.

Dr. Guandalini MD - U of Chicago Contact here

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Dr. Guandalini, pediatrician, is a former professor to Dr. Alesio Fasano in Italy, and founder and director of the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Program. He is a rock solid supporter of celiac disease and works diligently to gain the ear of his American colleagues. He participated in the prevalence study published in 2003 and in establishment of international diagnostic criteria for celiac disease. He is a respected expert specifically on villi damaged celiac disease and helped hundreds of villi damaged patients. He has published or contributed to over 100 articles.

Dr. Joe Murray MD - Iowa and then Mayo Clinic Contact here

Dr. Murray was born and schooled in Ireland, and then moved to University of Iowa, and is now at Mayo Clinic. He was one of the few specialists who diagnosed celiac disease in the US in the late 1980's. *"Dr. Murray of the Mayo Clinic recalls that when he was a medical student in Galway, Ireland, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, diagnoses of celiac disease were so common they were "part of the medical wallpaper." After he moved to a job at the University of Iowa in 1988, Dr. Murray once diagnosed a celiac alongside a senior professor. "This will be the last such case you see, since we never see this in America," Dr. Murray remembers the professor saying." Quote from East Florida Celiac Group, Mike Martin He published a review on the Widening Spectrum of Celiac Disease in 1999, and later Dr. Murray expressed further surprise in 2006 at a link found between celiac disease and neurological issues, specifically dementia, observed in a Mayo study in 2006.

Dr. Michelle Pietzak MD - Los Angeles, CA www.theglutenfreemd.com Contact here

Dr. Pietzak, pediatric gasteroenterologist at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, and Director of Center of Celiac Research West and medical advisor to the Celiac Disease Foundation has produced 2 celiac based resources, The Gluten Free MD 2006, an audio educational CD, and Understanding Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance, an educational DVD, 2007, coproduced with Dr. Alesio Fasano and Dr. Peter Green. To hear radio programs of Dr. Pietzak's explanations of celiac disease and demos of the DVD visit her informative website, www.theglutenfreemd.com contains. Dr. Pietzak differentiates celiac disease vs. non celiac gluten intolerance as "autoimmune with possible accompanying nutritional and other secondary effects", and "non autoimmune", respectively. Biography here Radio talk here

Dr. John J. Zone MD - University of Utah, Dermatology Contact here

Dr. Zone, schooled at University of Notre Dame, NY, and Upstate Medical School, Syracuse, NY, has contributed impressively to the celiac disease cause, and diagnosed and treated patients for over 25 years. He also codeveloped a special immunofluorescence staining process for blood and skin specimens. This aided diagnosis and management of celiac disease. Here are images of specimens so stained. Dr. Zone's specialty in the celiac disease arena is dermatitis herpetiformis. Dr. Zone became head of Dermatology at the University of Utah in 1987and he is a staunch supporter and educator of the celiac community. His curriculum vitae is extensive.

Close: List of celiac specialists

List of Professionals who recognize non celiac gluten syndrome as

often serious and often autoimmune.

Dr. Michael N. Marsh and late Professor Anne Ferguson, UK

Dr. Michael N. Marsh, UK - Retired author of Celiac Disease: Methods and Protocols printed in 2000 (see sample pages on Amazon reader) . Dr. Marsh is respected as a giant in the field of the Gluten Syndrome, called "coeliac disease" when he practiced. In his day, all research was focused on villi damage and he designed the Marsh Classification System for Villi Damage, which is in current use today (see a recent challenge to this system). Dr. Marsh recently publicly admonished his followers to respect the non celiac gluten syndrome. His major work on stool testing, (originally this meant washing out the contents of a patient's entire intestinal system) was suspended unfinished and unvalidated when his research grant was discontinued. He took retirement, his research partner Anne Ferguson passed away, and the project came to a standstill. Later Dr. Ken Fine, Baylor University, TX., see below, took up where Dr. Marsh and Anne Ferguson left off, and developed a similar test. He developed a method which required collection of just one bowel movement, a much more practical procedure. Note: Dr. Marsh recently admonished his younger peers at the XII International Celiac Disease Symposium Conference held November 2006, to take the non celiac gluten syndrome seriously. His private response when shown a complete list of available testable antibodies: "this is exactly what we need." (That panel of antibodies returned a 77% positivity rate in Dr. Thomas O'Bryan's entire practice over 3-4 years. Over 350 patients were tested.)

Professor Anne Ferguson, BSc, MB, ChB, PhD (Glas), FRCPG, FRCP, FRCPE, FRCPath - Scotland

Anne Ferguson (Anne Collee) a well loved and extremely accomplished gastroenterologist, professor, researcher, and educator in a number of medical fields shared Dr. Michael Marsh's final coeliac stool focused study. The research project came to an unfinished and unvalidated halt when the funding grant was withdrawn. Other researchers were unable to duplicate their work. Professor Ferguson passed away after a short illness in 1998 and Dr. Marsh retired. Their work was later continued by Dr. Ken Fine, see below. Anne Ferguson's biography and obituary reveal Anne's remarkable and compassionate legacy. A research article by Anne is here

Dr. Mario Hadjivassiliou, Sheffield England

Special thanks to annelb of Gluten Free and Beyond Forums for this comment and research list

Dr. Hadjivassiliou, a neurologist in the UK, has been a leader in connecting central and peripheral neurological damage to gluten. He contends that gluten directly attacks the nervous system. According to Dr. H, gluten sensitivity, without the damage to the small intestine as seen in celiac disease, is all that is needed for the nervous system to be damaged.

Contact here: Dr. M Hadjivassiliou, Dept. of Neurology, The Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2JF, UK

Research by Dr. Mario Hadjivassiliou, neurologist - Sheffield, England

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Return to top

Dr. James Braly, MD. and Dr. Ron Hoggan ED.D Contact Dr Braly

Dr. Braly MD and Dr. Ron Hoggan Ed.D collaborated in 2002 on their courageous book, "Dangerous Grains" which clearly and convincingly discussed non celiac gluten reactivity at a time when it was not acknowledged by celiac "villi focused" authorities. Dr. Braly, MD, is an experienced and personally gluten sensitive allergist.

Ron Hoggan Ed.D. Contact Ron Hoggan

Ron Hoggan Ed.D. holds a PhD in education and is a high school teacher. He is dx celiac and has written an impressive number of articles on the gluten syndrome. Check out the Dangerous Grains website. A long list of Ron's articles is here. Ron fought an uphill battle to encourage many confused patients and parents to respect non celiac gluten syndrome and finally is receiving the respect he richly deserves. Ron recently wrote "Get the Iron Edge", which highlights the particular challenges of gluten syndrome patients to maintain iron levels. His insightful and very worthwhile DVD "Smarten up" is a compilation of 3 talks on the effect of the gluten syndrome for children and students from his qualified and compassionate perspective as a personally celiac affected educator. "Smarten Up" is an invaluable and highly recommended resource for parents, grandparents and teachers. (This website has no financial interest in products or services mentioned here.)

Dr. Kenneth Fine, MD Gastroenterologist Contact Dr. Fine

Dr. Fine, MD, is a respected gastroenterologist from Dallas, TX. Formerly associated with Baylor University, he is involved in announced but unpublished stool testing research and owns an independent lab for internet based, home collection gluten sensitivity stool tests.

Dr. Fine took up the research left unfinished by Dr. Michael N Marsh and Anne Ferguson (UK), originally in the study of microscopic colitis. He drew a connection between microscopic colitis and the gluten syndrome and eventually left Baylor and set up an independent accredited lab around 2000 to offer his stool test and a few other related tests directly to the public.
Dr. Fine is criticized for the high number of positives processed in his lab compared to celiac "villi focused" labs. However many patients find that his test matches their own experience. His results match findings by Dr. Thomas O'Bryan's practice and Dr. Vojdani's lab results. Dr. Fine also recognizes more genes than celiac focused specialists. Several very informative essays explaining his perspective are posted on his website www.enterolab.com .

Dr. Fine's alternative perspectives of the gluten syndrome vs. standard celiac concepts

Dr. Fine proposes the following modifications to dx criteria for recommendation of the gluten free diet.

Stool provides earlier markers of gluten reactivity.
His intestinal FUNCTION test ie, how well does the gut work?, based on fat absorption, is advised.
Genes HLA DQ 1, 2, 3, 8 are gluten genes, each expressed more or less in various tissue injury.
Gluten syndrome is often beyond the gut, ie. villi are not always damaged early on so biopsy is a imperfect gold standard. Elevated antibodies indicate a sensitized immune system, go gluten free.
If undigested gluten ends up in the wrong place, ie, it slips past the gut (leaky gut) or another mucosal barrier, if a gluten related gene is present, the immune system will react.

Patients are confused by conflicting opinions of Dr. Fine's ideas and his test. In the absence of published peer reviewed data at this time they wonder who he is and why he has not published his work.

Dr. Fine is well qualified as a gastroenterologist, a fact acknowledged even by is critics. Upon inquiry among those who have known him in his local medical arena and knowledgeable folks in the gluten syndrome field I learned that he appears to have 3 interests; his gastroenterology research, his music, and helping people. He prefers to invest in research than easy living., He loves to play his guitar and sing under the stars in the desert with kids and their families to society life, and is also an accomplished musician. He has struggled with his own gastrointestinal issues for years and is on the gluten free diet.

Dr. Fine has published other research articles in the past. He announced his research 3 years ago in 2006 shortly after a patent was obtained for the test. It is the opinion of some that Dr. Fine has further delayed publishing his work for specific study related reasons.

This work is not peer reviewed, duplicated or validated. Only one parallel study has been performed which claims not to find stool tests of value. Drl. Fine takes issue with the methods used in that study. Other professionals claim to have tried to duplicate Dr. Fine's test without success. However, over the past 5 years, public and in many cases professional confidence has risen very significantly as more and more patient's experiences match his test results.

(This website has no financial interest in products or services mentioned here.) Return to top

Close: Dr. Kenneth Fine

Dr. Aristo Vojdani, PhD, Immunology, MT Contact here

Dr. Aristo Vojdani is a respected immunologist/researcher from Los Angeles, formerly Beverly Hills. He is well known in the biomedical autism circuit. He owns Immunosciences Laboratories, a specialty lab currently under reorganization. They plan to reopen Spring of 2009 to concentrate on very detailed and progressive gastrointestinal and autoimmune testing panels. Dr. Vojdani has published numerous times on the effects of toxins, gluten and other cross reactive foods and substances on the brain and neurological system and many other body tissues. His lab plans to offer detailed and progressive test panels for the gluten syndrome starting spring, 2009. The test goals include all possible known antibodies for which tests are available and a progressive system of testing until a positive is obtained, which controls cost for the patient. Be sure to visit his website when it is reposted to check out his array of excellent articles.

Dr. Aristo Vojdani, Ph.D, MT proposes the following serious alterations to current concepts of gluten testing and gluten's effects on many body systems.

There are many more antibodies to check beside gliadin and tTG. Others include gluteomorphins, gluten itself, wheat and AGA-tTG. Check IgA, IgG, and IgM for each antibody.
tTG is not always elevated in many gluten related reactions so tTG as a general screener is inappropriate.
Molecular, or cellular mimicry of antibodies with innocent tissue - Gluten related antibodies can cross react or bind with "look alike" parts of innocent tissues all over the body. This instigates damage by "friendly fire" since the antibodies attract killer cells to that tissue. Villi are not necessarily injured in these cases. This is called molecular or cellular mimicry.
Villi damage is only one particular type of reaction out of many other possible serious autoimmune reactions. The celiac reaction not only damages villi but can damage many other tissues also. See Medical Diagrams
Villi biopsy is in inappropriate diagnostic gold standard for gluten free diet since villi are only damaged in certain (relatively rare, 1 in 100) reactions. Some folks do have celiac villi damage. Most do NOT but may be severely damaged in other tissues. Invasive and expensive villi biopsy should be reserved for other reasons to examine the gut. Antibodies or diet response are diagnostic in and of themselves.
The brain and nervous system is very susceptible to gluten related damage by molecular mimicry between antibodies and cerebellar tissue, Neurofilaments and myelin basic protein (nerve insulation.
Processed wheat combined with chemicals can create allergic response in persons who normally do not react to wheat.
TOXINS are the "Big Guns" behind the gluten syndrome. For instance, organophosphates and heavy metals are fingered in inhibition of DPP IV, an important digestive enzyme that digests milk and gluten and also plays an important role in the immune system. Chemical injury, ie. toxins, injure the tight junctions between gut cells to create leaky gut through which gluten peptides slip into the lymph and blood systems and are recognized as enemies by the immune system. Stress and infections also trigger leaky gut. (See Medical Diagrams with references.)
Genes are NOT NEEDED to instigate a gluten related adverse reaction. Toxins are enough to create an adverse cascade of reactions. Genes predispose.

Close: Dr. Aristo Vojdani, Ph.D, MT

Aristo Vojdani PhD, Thomas O'Bryan - Immunology research:

Immune response to dietary proteins, gliadin and cerebellar peptides in children with autism. Nutr Neurosci. 2004 Jun;7(3):151-61.Vojdani A, O'Bryan T, Green JA, Mccandless J, Woeller KN, Vojdani E, Nourian AA, Cooper EL. Section of Neuroimmunology, Immunosciences Lab., Inc., 8693 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 200, Beverly Hills, California 90211, USA. drari@msn.com Full text here
Infections, toxic chemicals and dietary peptides binding to lymphocyte receptors and tissue enzymes are major instigators of autoimmunity in autism. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2003 Sep-Dec;16(3):189-99 Vojdani A, Pangborn JB, Vojdani E, Cooper EL Lab. Comparative Immunology, Dept. Neurobiology, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA. DrAri@msn.com Full Text here

In Celiac Disease, A Subset of Autoantibodies against Transglutaminase Binds Toll-Like Receptor 4 and Induces Activation of Monocytes Published Sept 19, 2006 Giovanna Zonomi¹, Niccardo Navone², Claudio Lunardi², Giuseppe Tidente¹, Carerina Bason², Simona Sivori³, Buggero Beri² Marzia Dolcino⁴, Enrico Valletta⁵, Roberto Corrocher², Antonio Puccetti^3,4

1. Section of Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Verona, Italy
2. Section of Internal Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
3. Section of Histology, Departmant of Experimental Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
4. Immunology Unit, Institute G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy,
5. Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy

Click for abstract and full text

Immunological cross reactivity between Candida albicans and human tissue. J Clin Lab Immunol. 1996;48(1):1-15. Vojdani A, Rahimian P, Kalhor H, Mordechai E., Immunsciences Lab Inc., Beverly Hills, CA 90211, USA Full text here

NEW! The Immunology of Immediate and Delayed Hypersensitivity to Gluten - European Journal of Inflammation Vol 6 No. 1 1-10 (2008) Editorial - A. Vojdani Beverly Hills, CA (now Los Angeles, CA) T. O'Bryan, Warrenville, IL,( now Chicago, Il), G. H. Kellermann Neuroscience, WI, USA Full text here Note: This file contains 2 articles from the journal. Scroll to the top to find the Vojdani article.

NEW! The Immunology of Gluten Sensitivity Beyond the Intestinal Tract - Aristo Vojdani, PH.D, M.T., Thomas O'Bryan, D.C., C.C.N., DACBN, Full text here

NEW! The Gluten Response in Children with Celiac Disease is Directed toward Multiple Gliadin and Glutenin Peptides - Gastroenterology 2002; 122:1729-1737 Willemijen Vader, Yvonne Kooy, Peter Van Veelen, Arnoud de Ru, Diana Harris, Willemien Benckhuijsen, Salvador Pena, Luisa Mearin, Jan Wouter Drijfhout, and Frits Koning Departments of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion and Paediatrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands; and the Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Full text here

Close: Aristo Vojdani, PhD

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Dr. Thomas O'Bryan Contact here

Dr. O'Bryan is a functional medicine practitioner in Chicago area. His excellent research reviews on various aspects of the gluten syndrome are incredibly clear and well presented. Dr. O'Bryan works with Dr. Aristo Vojdani in research and test development. He has produced detailed testing protocols that produce impressive rates of positivity that match most patient's experience. (The secret? He tests as many gluten related antibodies as possible! Over 4 years he ran a detailed panel of gluten related antibodies (12-15 tests) on all patients in his practice with a 77% positivity rate. Many of those patients tested positive for antibodies other than gliadin and tTG and IgA, IgG, and IgMs were all checked for each antibody. He also ran cross reactive foods and a panel of antibodies to tissues known to be particularly susceptible to gluten damage. Dr. O'Bryan completed an outstanding and highly appreciated speaking circuit in the USA in 2008 in which he addressed 3000 medical doctors and practitioners on the wider scope of the gluten syndrome. His planned 2009 circuit focuses on food allergies in general. Often he speaks to patient support groups the evening before the main presentation to professionals. If he comes to your area BE SURE to arrange a special event for your group to hear these incredibly well presented and informative lectures. Watch for a post of his schedule soon.

Dr. O'Bryan's first research review "Unlocking the Mystery of Wheat and Gluten Intolerance" is available in DVD format here and here and here. His second research review for patients (3 hours) is due to be posted free on this website soon. Click here for his 90 minute audio talk, "I'm gluten free but I don't feel great" also on the home page of this website. All these talks are excellent resources on the gluten syndrome. (This website has no financial interest in products or services mentioned here.)

Dr. Rodney Ford, MD, MB FRACP, ASM Professor, "Dr. Gluten" New Zealand Contact here

Dr. Ford is an experienced pediatrician with a specialty in food allergies and particularly the gluten syndrome. Dr. Ford coined the term, "The Gluten Syndrome".

Dr. Rodney Ford proposes that if the nerves in an organ or system are damaged in some cases there may be little discomfort or few symptoms until there is serious dysfunction or organ failure. The very nerves that give warning are themselves damaged/silenced. But slowly dysfunctional nerves in an organ, for instance, affect the health and function of that organ or system. This phenomenon of silenced nerves may be partly why many folks who still think they are fine discover they have the gluten syndrome only after a relative is diagnosed. Dr. Ford believes nerves are very very susceptible to gluten related damage.

Dr. Ford cites a case in his practice of an encopretic school aged child (the child experienced soiling accidents long past potty training age). After the gluten free diet was introduced, this distressing problem resolved. The nerves in that section of the digestive tract healed and the child knew when it was time to visit the toilet. www.drgluten.com

Dr. Ford has written a number of books on the gluten syndrome and his website and video clips are very helpful.

Dr Ford also participated in the New Zealand Cot Death Study. Dr. Ford was part of a team that traveled the world persuading professionals to teach parents to position infants on their backs when sleeping. This project reduced the tragedy of crib death (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, SIDS) to a mere fraction of previous mortality rates.

Coming:

Dr. Scott Lewey - Colorado

Dr.Shari Lieberman - Author The Gluten Connection

Dr. Steve Wangen - Author Healthier Without Wheat

Drs. Richard and Vikki Peterson - Authors The Gluten Effect

Close: List of Professionals

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