Celiac Disease is an Autoimmune Disorder

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), "An autoimmune disorder is a condition that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue" (Medline Plus).

In a healthy person, our immune system is protected from harmful substances by white blood cells. That is why when we have an infection, our white blood cell count is elevated. These white blood cells are sent out to destroy the bad guys (antigens like bactiria or viruses or other harmful substances in our body). But if you have an autoimmune disease, like celiac disease, your immune system can no longer tell the difference between what is normal and what is an antigen. So the body sends out the signal to destroy the wrong thing-- in this case it destroys normal body tissue.

This is similar to when the body has an allergic reaction, but with an allergy, the body is reacting to an external substance, while with an autoimmune disorder, the body reacts to normal body tissue.

Nobody really knows what causes the immune system to lose its ability to determine healthy body tissue from antigens, but there seems to be a genetic prospensity that tends to single some people out while ignoring others.

According to the NIH, autoimmune dieseases will manifest various symptoms that are specific to the disease, but there are some that are common, such as:

• Dizzines
• Fatigue
• General ill-feeling
• Low-grade fever

Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease in which gluten and other proteins (wheat, barley, and rye) damage the lining of the small intestines. There is no cure, and at this point can be treated only through strict dietary measures. Even trace amounts can cause continued damage to the gut, with or without symptoms. This drawing which I borrowed from the Celiac Disease Foundation shows the interior wall of the small intestine. It is lined with tiny hairlike villi which absorb the nutrients from food as it passes through the intestines. Celiac disease flattens these villi, making it more difficult for us to get the nutrients we need, and in turn-- causing a whole host of other problems.

According to an article in The North Jersey News:

"There are three necessary components to celiac... You need to carry the gene that predisposes you to the disease. You need exposure to the gluten, and you need a trigger mechanism. Right now we don’t really know what that trigger might be, but once it’s triggered into action, it doesn’t go away" (North Jersey News, Dec. 1, 2009).

The Celiac Disease Foundation states that "Celiac disease affects more people than all of these disorders combined" and that "97% of people with Celiac Disease go undiagnosed. Celiac Disease is one of the most common genetic conditions in the world. Celiac is a multi-symptom, multi-system disorder, activated by eating gluten - proteins found in wheat, rye and barley. Symptoms vary and are not always gastrointestinal." So just because you aren't having a stomach ache or some other digestive issue, does not necessarily mean you are free from having celiac, especially if you have a family history of digestive troubles.

When in doubt, check it out!

Researching Celiac Disease

According to the National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse National Institute of Health), Celiac Disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families.

I received an email from my mother earlier today, and she happened to mention that one of my sisters had been to visit my parents over the weekend. My sister, who has been dealing with digestive problems (and liver), became ill after eating at a business dinner party the night before. Usually very careful about what she eats, something was slipped into her food that may have had traces of something to which she is very sensitive or allergic. Her son (my nephew) has also been suffering from something that sounds like colitis.

My brother was recently diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and my mother has suffered with chronic digestive problems for many years. Her cousin also has a very restricted diet, and the list of relatives with digestive problems goes on. She was thinking there may be a genetic link that makes us all susceptible to these types of problems. I believe there is, and I want to know if it is Celiac Disease, or gluten intolerance (treated the same).

Though people may test positive for CD, they don't always develop a full-blown version. According to the source above, "Sometimes the disease is triggered -- or becomes active for the first time-- after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress."

Well, that kind of says a lot for my personal story: My husband suffered a massive heart attack early in the year, and we almost lost him. It was so bad it took 12 shocks to stabilize the heart, and he spent a week in the ICU. We had no incoming money and no savings to rely on, and no health insurance. During the following months we encountered one serious setback after the other. Every week I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. After the heart attack, the cardiologist told me I might need help with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Maybe my level of stress triggered my digestive issues.

The same source also lists 12 other symptoms that can accompany CD:

unexplained iron-deficiency anemia

fatigue

bone or joint pain

arthritis

bone loss or osteoporosis

depression or anxiety

tingling numbness in the hands and feet

seizures

missed menstrual periods

infertility or recurrent miscarriage

canker sores inside the mouth

An itchy skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis

Ever since my trip to the ER in late October I have been telling doctors and nurses that my extremities were tingly and numb!! They usually look at me in a very puzzled way. Only one nurser practitioner brought up the possibility of a wheat allergy or Celiac Disease. I have seven of those symptoms listed above. Dental enamel defects are also common (something I've had all my life). If that is not enough, when I was small people were always telling me I was malnourished. Even into adulthood doctors would tell me to take vitamins because I always seemed deficient, and had a hard time keeping my iron levels up.

On top of that, in an effort to find out what happened to my "missing periods" (as listed here in the symptoms) I underwent an endometrial biopsy just yesterday. I'd say it is time to get back to that thought of possible CD again.

Other health problems that people with CD may have include:

• type 1 diabetes
• autoimmune thyroid disease
• autoimmune liver disease
• rheumatoid arthritis
• Addison's disease, a condition in which the glands that produce critical hormones are damaged
• Sjogren's syndrome, a condition in which the glands that produce tears and saliva are destroyed.
  
  

  
  "Long-term complications include malnutrition-- which can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, and miscarriage, among other problems-- liver diseases, and cancers of the intestines."
  

Currently, I am faced with the blood tests. In order to test for CD, I will have to return to a gluten diet, which I am not looking forward to, but willing to do to get a definitive diagnosis.


The NDDIC is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health. Please visit the website for complete information.