Gene links to celiac disease may help drug search

	Tweet

Scientists have identified new genetic links to celiac disease and say their findings could speed the search for better ways to diagnose and treat the gluten-intolerance disorder.

British researchers scanned the genetic maps of more than 9,400 celiac patients and found areas of immune system disturbance which lead to the development of the auto-immune disease, which affects around one percent of people.

The researchers also found “substantial evidence” that genes associated with celiac disease may also be linked to many other common chronic immune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

"We can now shed light on some of the precise immune disturbances leading to celiac disease,” said David van Heel, a professor of gastrointestinal genetics at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, who led an international team of researchers in conducting the study.

Celiac disease is a digestive disorder caused by an abnormal immune response to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley and many other everyday items like medicines and vitamins. The disease damages structures in the lining of the small intestine called villi, impairing the body’s absorption of nutrients.

It can lead to severe health problems including anemia, poor bone health, fatigue and weight loss. There is no cure, and the only treatment is a life-long gluten-free diet.

Van Heel said his findings meant scientists could now see that many of the genetic risk factors for celiac disease work by altering the amount of immune system genes made by cells.

“The data also suggests that celiac disease is made up of hundreds of genetic risk factors, we can have a good guess at nearly half of the genetic risk at present,” he wrote in the study published in the Nature Genetics journal on Sunday.

SOURCE: Nature Genetics, online February 28, 2010.

RELATED STORIES:
FDA says ulcer drugs may raise diarrhea risk   Rotavirus vaccine not linked to bowel problems   Rotavirus Vaccine Not Associated with Increased Risk of Intestinal Disorder in US Infants   Ulcer-causing bug tied to higher diabetes risk   Five Reasons Not to Put Off a Colonoscopy   New therapeutic target to combat liver cancer discovered   GERD in Infants and Children   An easier way to remove gallstones   Radical Liver Surgery, West Coast First   Inflammatory Bowel Disease Emerges as a Global Disease   Feeling Stressed? Why You May Feel It in Your Gut   Rare genetic disorder provides clues to development of the pancreas   Genes modify the risk of liver disease among alcoholics   Fatty livers are in overdrive   Use of opioid painkillers for abdominal pain has more than doubled

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]