Coeliac disease (CD, also called gluten-sensitive enteropathy or coeliac sprue) is a digestive disorder that causes damage to the small intestines. CD patients are unable to tolerate gluten, which is present in cereals (wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats). Corn, rice and millet are not toxic to CD patients. The ingestion of gluten triggers a response by the immune system that leads to the loss of villi in the small intestine. This results in malabsorption of dietary nutrients, which causes the patient to become malnourished. Damaged intestinal mucosa put a CD patient at risk for lymphoma, adenocarcinoma and reduced fertility.
CD patients show a wide range of clinical symptoms that vary in their severity. Chronic diarrhoea, recurring abdominal bloating, pain and weight loss are frequent symptoms, but sometimes osteopenia, anaemia (caused by malabsorption of specific nutrients such as calcium and iron or folate) or behaviour changes are the only symptoms that are present. Some patients have silent CD: they have no symptoms at all but their small intestines are damaged. The total withdrawal of gluten from the diet is the only remedy for this disease and will generally lead to full restoration of the villi. Patients who are suspected of having CD are first tested for the presence of antibodies against gluten. If these are present, a biopsy specimen of the intestinal mucosa is taken so that a definite diagnosis can be made.
See publications by
C Wijmenga and her group in PubMed
See the
group's PhD thesesSasha Zhernakova will defend her PhD thesis on coeliac disease on 3 Nov. and 3 Dec. 2009.
Victorien Wolters, V.M. (graduated 3 Nov 2009). Diagnostics and genetics of coeliac disease.
Supervisors Prof. C. Wijmenga, Prof. J.L.L. Kimpen and Dr. R.H.J. Houwen. Copies can be requested from the secretariat (phone 088-756 8901). The thesis will be available via Igitur shortly.