Celiac disease (CD) or celiac disease is a digestive disease, in which the body’s own immune defense system mistakenly attacks healthy intestinal tissues, altering the absorption of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and proteins, which they contain. the foods that are ingested.
This condition damages the small intestine, whose function is to continue the process of digestion of food coming from the stomach, and absorb nutrients and water to take advantage of them and use them in the body.
Celiac patients do not tolerate a protein called gluten, which is found in cereals (wheat, oats, barley, rye), and when they eat foods that contain it, their immune system responds and damage occurs to the intestinal mucosa, as they explain. from the University of Navarra Clinic (CUN).
Altered food absorption leads to malnutrition, even if adequate intake is maintained, and given that there is a genetic component in celiac disease, this disease is more common in certain families, points out the CUN.
Three out of four undiagnosed celiacs
About 75 percent of those affected by this disease, more common in women and which can also affect children, remain undiagnosed, point out from the private medical insurer Nara Seguros, NS, citing data from the Federation of Celiac Associations of Spain, FACE.
This high percentage of undiagnosed people is due, for the most part, to the fact that for years celiac disease has been related only to its classic clinical form of manifestation, but the recognition of other atypical forms, in which the patient has few or no symptom, together with the greater and better use of the complementary tests available, has revealed that there are different types of CD, according to the FACE.
Gluten is a combination of proteins, mainly glutenin and gliadin, found in the seeds of many cereals such as wheat, oats, barley or rye.according to NS.
This substance is present in foods that contain cereals, such as pasta, pizza, breads, pastries, products coated with flour and breaded preparations, among others.
When an individual with celiac disease consumes gluten, an immunological reaction is triggered in their body, which damages the microvilli that line the small intestine, preventing it from adequately carrying out its function of absorbing nutrients, as they point out.
Although there is no treatment that cures this ailment, a strict gluten-free diet can help control it, allowing intestinal microvilli to regenerate and reduce abdominal inflammation and associated symptoms, according to NS.
A disease with very varied symptoms
The symptoms of celiac disease, both in childhood and in adulthood, are varied, they do not necessarily appear all at the same time, they may not be related to the digestive system, and there may even be an absence of symptoms, thus making the diagnosis of this difficult. ailment, according to the specialists of this firm.
Some of the main symptoms are: nausea, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, noticeable swelling of the abdomen, growth retardation, anemia, depression and constipation, they add.
“Those experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms may ask if they might have celiac disease. In that case, it is important to consult with a doctor to obtain an appropriate diagnosis and receive advice on the correct management of the disease,” they point out from the Nara medical insurer.
An analytical study of antibodies, an intestinal biopsy and following a gluten-free diet for at least six months will allow the final confirmation of said pathology, they highlight.
“Probably the only pathognomonic sign (exclusively characteristic) of celiac disease is dermatitis herpetiformis,” Pablo Caballero, pharmacist in the scientific dissemination area of the General Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges of Spain, explains to EFE.
“Dermatitis herpetiformis generally occurs in young patients, but it is rare in children and is more common in women than in men,” according to this pharmacist.
He explains that “this disease manifests itself as a skin rash with intense itching that can be confused with atopic dermatitis and mainly affects the elbows, knees, shoulders, neck and trunk, and more rarely it can also occur on the oral mucosa. and genital.”
“If a patient presents this manifestation, the diagnosis of gluten sensitivity can be confirmed, although this does not mean that all patients with gluten sensitivity have this symptom, since it is estimated that only between 10% and 20% of Celiacs develop dermatitis herpetiformis,” explains Caballero.
Although the antibiotic Dapsone can be used to treat this disease, its resolution occurs by completely eliminating gluten from the diet, Caballero points out.
“Not all celiacs have the same symptoms, nor with the same intensity. When a diagnosed patient does not report symptoms, it is possible that the damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa has not become great enough to generate the classic symptoms: greasy stools, abdominal pain, flatulence or weight loss,” she points out.
It is also common for there to be low intensity symptoms, which disappear when a gluten-free diet is followed and which the so-called asymptomatic patients acknowledge that they went more or less unnoticed, such as flatulence, mild stomach discomfort or loose stools, according to Caballero.
“Even if there are hardly any symptoms, the diagnosis is important, since one of the main risks of uncontrolled celiac disease is that damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa increases the risk of malignancy, that is, it produces a greater risk of developing cancer,” according to this pharmacist.
Furthermore, “in the absence of symptoms there may be intestinal malabsorption problems that can cause nutritional deficiencies” he concludes.
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