Dietary Polyphenols in the Prevention of Stroke.

Polyphenols have an important protective role against a number of diseases, such as atherosclerosis, brain dysfunction, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death worldwide: more people die annually from cardiovascular diseases than from any other cause. The most important behavioural risk factors of heart disease and stroke are unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and excess alcohol intake. The dietary consumption of polyphenols has shown to be inversely associated with morbidity and mortality by cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. It is well-known that the protective effects of polyphenols in vivo depend on the grade how they are extracted from food and on their intestinal absorption, metabolism, and biological action with target tissues. The aim of this review was to summarise the relation between polyphenols of different plant sources and stroke in human intervention studies, animal models, and in vitro studies.

Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Sedentary Behaviors in Spanish Children.

Purpose. To evaluate children's psychosocial and environmental factors associated with sedentary behavior (SB). Method. The study involved a total of 420 children (mean 9.2 years; 52.9% girls) from the community of Madrid, Spain. SB and physical activity (PA) were objectively measured using accelerometers. TV viewing and potential correlates were assessed by questionnaire. Mixed-model regression analysis, adjusted for clustering within school locations, evaluated the relation of each independent variable with SBs. Results. Girls showed higher levels of SB than boys, whereas boys reported more TV viewing (p < .001 in all cases). Regression analysis showed that MVPA levels were negatively related to objective SB measurement in both boys and girls (p < .001). Parent and friend support to PA were negatively associated with SB on weekdays in boys and girls, respectively (p < .05). In the boys' group, parental professional level was a positive predictor of SB on weekend days (p = .011). Boys with more positive neighborhood perceptions spent less time watching TV (p < .001), whereas mother's leisure-time PA level was a negative correlate of TV viewing in girls' group (p < .01). Conclusion. Different psychosocial and environmental correlates of SB were identified. Present findings are promising targets for interventions to improve children's health.

Effects of alcohol and polyphenols from beer on atherosclerotic biomarkers in high cardiovascular risk men: a randomized feeding trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Moderate alcohol consumption exerts a cardioprotective effect, but no studies have evaluated the alcohol-independent cardiovascular effects of the non-alcoholic components of beer. We aimed to evaluate the effects of ethanol and the phenolic compounds of beer on classical and novel cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-three high risk male volunteers were included in a randomized, crossover feeding trial. After a washout period, all subjects received beer (30 g alcohol/d, 660 mL), the equivalent amount of polyphenols as non-alcoholic beer (990 mL), and gin (30 g alcohol/d, 100 mL) for 4 weeks. All outcomes were evaluated before and after each intervention period. Moderate alcohol consumption increased serum HDL-cholesterol (∼5%), ApoA-I (∼6%), ApoA-II (∼7%) and adiponectin (∼7%), and decreased serum fibrinogen (∼8%), and interleukin (IL)-5 (∼14%) concentrations, whereas the non-alcoholic fraction of beer (mainly polyphenols) increased the receptor antagonist of IL-1 (∼24%), and decreased lymphocyte expression of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (∼11%), lymphocyte and monocyte expression of Sialil-Lewis X (∼16%) and monocyte expression of CCR2 (∼31%), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-ß (∼14%) and IL-15 (∼22%) plasma concentrations. No changes were observed in glucose metabolism parameters or in body weight and adiposity parameters. CONCLUSION: The phenolic content of beer reduces leukocyte adhesion molecules and inflammatory biomarkers, whereas alcohol mainly improves the lipid profile and reduces some plasma inflammatory biomarkers related to atherosclerosis.

Are postural responses to backward and forward perturbations processed by different neural circuits?

Startle pathways may contribute to rapid accomplishment of postural stability. Here we investigate the possible influence of a startling auditory stimulus (SAS) on postural responses. We formulated four specific questions: (1) can a concurrent SAS shorten the onset of automatic postural responses?; and if so (2) is this effect different for forward versus backward perturbations?; (3) does this effect depend on prior knowledge of the perturbation direction?; and (4) is this effect different for low- and high-magnitude perturbations? Balance was perturbed in 11 healthy participants by a movable platform that suddenly translated forward or backward. Each participant received 160 perturbations, 25% of which were combined with a SAS. We varied the direction and magnitude of the perturbations, as well as the prior knowledge of perturbation direction. Perturbation trials were interspersed with SAS-only trials. The SAS accelerated and strengthened postural responses with clear functional benefits (better balance control), but this was only true for responses that protected against falling backwards (i.e. in tibialis anterior and rectus femoris). These muscles also demonstrated the most common SAS-triggered responses without perturbation. Increasing the perturbation magnitude accelerated postural responses, but again with a larger acceleration for backward perturbations. We conclude that postural responses to backward and forward perturbations may be processed by different neural circuits, with influence of startle pathways on postural responses to backward perturbations. These findings give directions for future studies investigating whether deficits in startle pathways may explain the prominent backward instability seen in patients with Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Gazpacho consumption is associated with lower blood pressure and reduced hypertension in a high cardiovascular risk cohort. Cross-sectional study of the PREDIMED trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hypertension is a major public health problem and a leading cause of death and disability in both developed and developing countries, affecting one-quarter of the world's adult population. Our aim was to evaluate whether the consumption of gazpacho, a Mediterranean vegetable-based cold soup rich in phytochemicals, is associated with lower blood pressure (BP) and/or reduced prevalence of hypertension in individuals at high cardiovascular risk. METHODS AND RESULTS: We selected 3995 individuals (58% women, mean age 67 y) at high cardiovascular risk (81% hypertensive) recruited into the PREDIMED study. BP, weight, and dietary and physical activity data were collected. In multivariate linear regression analyses, after adjustment, moderate and high gazpacho consumption categories were associated with reduced mean systolic BP of -1.9 mm Hg [95% confidence interval (CI): -3.4; -0.6] and -2.6 mm Hg (CI: -4.2; -1.0), respectively, and reduced diastolic BP of -1.5 mm Hg (CI: -2.3; -0.6) and -1.9 mm Hg (CI: -2.8; -1.1). By multiple-adjusted logistic regression analysis, gazpacho consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension, with OR = 0.85 (CI: 0.73; 0.99) for each 250 g/week increase and OR = 0.73 (CI: 0.55; 0.98) for high gazpacho consumption groups compared to the no-consumption group. CONCLUSIONS: Gazpacho consumption was inversely associated with systolic and diastolic BP and prevalence of hypertension in a cross-sectional Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk. The association between gazpacho intake and reduction of BP is probably due to synergy among several bioactive compounds present in the vegetable ingredients used to make the recipe.

Leisure-time physical activity and psychological well-being in university students.

An analysis of psychological well-being (self-esteem and subjective vitality) of 639 Spanish university students was performed, while accounting for the amount of leisure-time physical activity. The Spanish versions of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Subjective Vitality Scale were employed. Participants were divided into four groups (Low, Moderate, High, and Very high) depending on estimation of energy expenditure in leisure-time physical activity. Men and women having higher physical activity rated higher mean subjective vitality; however, differences in self-esteem were observed only in men, specifically between Very high and the other physical activity groups.

Kinesin-mediated axonal transport of a membrane compartment containing beta-secretase and presenilin-1 requires APP.

Proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) generates amyloid-beta peptide and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. However, the normal function of APP, whether this function is related to the proteolytic processing of APP, and where this processing takes place in neurons in vivo remain unknown. We have previously shown that the axonal transport of APP in neurons is mediated by the direct binding of APP to the kinesin light chain subunit of kinesin-I, a microtubule motor protein. Here we identify an axonal membrane compartment that contains APP, beta-secretase and presenilin-1. The fast anterograde axonal transport of this compartment is mediated by APP and kinesin-I. Proteolytic processing of APP can occur in the compartment in vitro and in vivo in axons. This proteolysis generates amyloid-beta and a carboxy-terminal fragment of APP, and liberates kinesin-I from the membrane. These results suggest that APP functions as a kinesin-I membrane receptor, mediating the axonal transport of beta-secretase and presenilin-1, and that processing of APP to amyloid-beta by secretases can occur in an axonal membrane compartment transported by kinesin-I.

Linkers, packages and pathways: new concepts in axonal transport.

The molecular mechanisms that generate efficient and directed transport of proteins and organelles in axons remain poorly understood. In the past year, many studies have identified specific transmembrane or scaffold proteins that might link motor proteins to their cargoes. These studies have also identified previously unsuspected pathways and raised the intriguing possibility that pre-packaged groups of functionally related proteins are transported together in the axon. Evidence suggests that fast molecular motor proteins have a role in slow axonal transport, and the axonal transport machinery has been implicated in the genesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

Actin dynamics at pointed ends regulates thin filament length in striated muscle.

Regulation of actin dynamics at filament ends determines the organization and turnover of actin cytoskeletal structures. In striated muscle, it is believed that tight capping of the fast-growing (barbed) ends by CapZ and of the slow-growing (pointed) ends by tropomodulin (Tmod) stabilizes the uniform lengths of actin (thin) filaments in myofibrils. Here we demonstrate for the first time that both CapZ and Tmod are dynamic on the basis of the rapid incorporation of microinjected rhodamine-labelled actin (rho-actin) at both barbed and pointed ends and from the photobleaching of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labelled Tmod. Unexpectedly, the inhibition of actin dynamics at pointed ends by GFP-Tmod overexpression results in shorter thin filaments, whereas the inhibition of actin dynamics at barbed ends by cytochalasin D has no effect on length. These data demonstrate that the actin filaments in myofibrils are relatively dynamic despite the presence of capping proteins, and that regulated actin assembly at pointed ends determines the length of thin filaments.

Leiomodins: larger members of the tropomodulin (Tmod) gene family.

The 64-kDa autoantigen D1 or 1D, first identified as a potential autoantigen in Graves' disease, is similar to the tropomodulin (Tmod) family of actin filament pointed end-capping proteins. A novel gene with significant similarity to the 64-kDa human autoantigen D1 has been cloned from both humans and mice, and the genomic sequences of both genes have been identified. These genes form a subfamily closely related to the Tmods and are here named the Leiomodins (Lmods). Both Lmod genes display a conserved intron-exon structure, as do three Tmod genes, but the intron-exon structure of the Lmods and the Tmods is divergent. mRNA expression analysis indicates that the gene formerly known as the 64-kDa autoantigen D1 is most highly expressed in a variety of human tissues that contain smooth muscle, earning it the name smooth muscle Leiomodin (SM-Lmod; HGMW-approved symbol LMOD1). Transcripts encoding the novel Lmod gene are present exclusively in fetal and adult heart and adult skeletal muscle, and it is here named cardiac Leiomodin (C-Lmod; HGMW-approved symbol LMOD2). Human C-Lmod is located near the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy locus CMH6 on human chromosome 7q3, potentially implicating it in this disease. Our data demonstrate that the Lmods are evolutionarily related and display tissue-specific patterns of expression distinct from, but overlapping with, the expression of Tmod isoforms.

Identification of a novel tropomodulin isoform, skeletal tropomodulin, that caps actin filament pointed ends in fast skeletal muscle.

Tropomodulin (E-Tmod) is an actin filament pointed end capping protein that maintains the length of the sarcomeric actin filaments in striated muscle. Here, we describe the identification and characterization of a novel tropomodulin isoform, skeletal tropomodulin (Sk-Tmod) from chickens. Sk-Tmod is 62% identical in amino acid sequence to the previously described chicken E-Tmod and is the product of a different gene. Sk-Tmod isoform sequences are highly conserved across vertebrates and constitute an independent group in the tropomodulin family. In vitro, chicken Sk-Tmod caps actin and tropomyosin-actin filament pointed ends to the same extent as does chicken E-Tmod. However, E- and Sk-Tmods differ in their tissue distribution; Sk-Tmod predominates in fast skeletal muscle fibers, lens, and erythrocytes, while E-Tmod is found in heart and slow skeletal muscle fibers. Additionally, their expression is developmentally regulated during chicken breast muscle differentiation with Sk-Tmod replacing E-Tmod after hatching. Finally, in skeletal muscle fibers that coexpress both Sk- and E-Tmod, they are recruited to different actin filament-containing cytoskeletal structures within the cell: myofibrils and costameres, respectively. All together, these observations support the hypothesis that vertebrates have acquired different tropomodulin isoforms that play distinct roles in vivo.

Tropomodulin assembles early in myofibrillogenesis in chick skeletal muscle: evidence that thin filaments rearrange to form striated myofibrils.

Actin filament lengths in muscle and nonmuscle cells are believed to depend on the regulated activity of capping proteins at both the fast growing (barbed) and slow growing (pointed) filament ends. In striated muscle, the pointed end capping protein, tropomodulin, has been shown to maintain the lengths of thin filaments in mature myofibrils. To determine whether tropomodulin might also be involved in thin filament assembly, we investigated the assembly of tropomodulin into myofibrils during differentiation of primary cultures of chick skeletal muscle cells. Our results show that tropomodulin is expressed early in differentiation and is associated with the earliest premyofibrils which contain overlapping and misaligned actin filaments. In addition, tropomodulin can be found in actin filament bundles at the distal tips of growing myotubes, where sarcomeric alpha-actinin is not always detected, suggesting that tropomodulin caps actin filament pointed ends even before the filaments are cross-linked into Z bodies by alpha-actinin. Tropomodulin staining exhibits an irregular punctate pattern along the length of premyofibrils that demonstrate a smooth phalloidin staining pattern for F-actin. Strikingly, the tropomodulin dots often appear to be located between the closely spaced, dot-like Z bodies that are stained for (&agr;)-actinin. Thus, in the earliest premyofibrils, the pointed ends of the thin filaments are clustered and partially aligned with respect to the Z bodies (the location of the barbed filament ends). At later stages of differentiation, the tropomodulin dots become aligned into regular periodic striations concurrently with the appearance of striated phalloidin staining for F-actin and alignment of Z bodies into Z lines. Tropomodulin, together with the barbed end capping protein, CapZ, may function from the earliest stages of myofibrillogenesis to restrict the lengths of newly assembled thin filaments by capping their ends; thus, transitions from nonstriated to striated myofibrils in skeletal muscle are likely due principally to filament rearrangements rather than to filament polymerization or depolymerization. Rearrangements of actin filaments capped at their pointed and barbed ends may be a general mechanism by which cells restructure their actin cytoskeletal networks during cell growth and differentiation.

[Visual evoked potentials and electroretinogram in pediatrics. Concept methodology and clinical applications]. / Los potenciales evocados visuales y el electrorretinograma en Pediatría. Concepto, metodología y aplicaciones clínicas.

INTRODUCTION: Since the first visual evoked potentials were obtained in the early 1940s, many important technical advances have been developed helping to produce more correct responses. One of the most important has been the incorporation of computers in the 1960s. This allowed the improvement in the relation signal/noise and consequently the responses are much more reliables technically. Also the improvement in the stimulators and electrodes necessaries for this test. However, all this advances introduced the use of the physical and technical concepts and magnitudes that sometimes fall outside the strict field of the medicine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Therefore we have divided this work into three very different parts. The first part is dedicated to remembering and defining a series of physical concepts and their usefulness in the obtention of VEPs and ERGs specially in the physical process witch the proper use are basic to attain correct responses. In the second part we will discuss VEPs and ERGs in pediatric patients under the age of two years., concentrating basically on the every day specific problems witch appear on treating young patients. Finally we will review briefly their most frequent clinical applications.

[Parasomnias in infants below one-year old of age]. / Parasomnias en lactantes menores de un año.

INTRODUCTION: Certain sleep disorders which occur in children and adults show the same phenomena, although presentation, significance, cause and treatment are all different. However, there are some disorders which are only found in infancy, as in the four conditions which we review below. In spite of great variation between individuals, the general way in which the wakefulness-sleep states mature during the first months of life is well known. In general the physiological patterns of REM and NREM are in general the same in children as in adults. However, the pathological patterns are similar, but there are major differences between them. These differences are mainly physiological, behavioural, parent-child relationship and specific disorders. We shall see that the central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome of infants is not the same as that of adults. The sleep apnea syndrome of the newborn is different to the apneas seen in older children. Benign neonatal myoclonia of sleep are not present in adults, and finally the sudden death of an infant is not like the unexplained nocturnal sudden death or sinus arrest linked to paradoxical sleep in adults.

Apical topography and modulation of ICAM-1 expression on activated endothelium.

Leukocyte-endothelium interactions and general inflammatory responses are contributed by the regulated expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on endothelium. It is now shown by confocal fluorescence microscopy and immunogold transmission electron microscopy that ICAM-1 was exclusively localized on the apical (luminal) membrane of cytokine-activated human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In contrast, other cell adhesion-promoting molecules, including beta 1 integrins, were expressed exclusively on the basolateral endothelial cell membrane, under the same experimental conditions. Kinetic binding studies of a 125I-labeled monoclonal antibody to ICAM-1 revealed that approximately 8% of membrane ICAM-1 on cytokine-activated endothelium was internalized in both coated and non-coated vesicles at 37 degrees C, with a t1/2 of approximately 18 min and a rate of approximately 3200 molecules/minute. This internalization pathway was directly dependent upon the level of ICAM-1 expression on the cell surface. Genetically engineered ICAM-1 transfectants, expressing a 10-fold higher receptor density than activated endothelium, internalized approximately 18% of membrane ICAM-1 at a rate of 75,000 molecules/minute with a t1/2 of approximately 22 min. These findings suggest that a combined pathway of polarized membrane topography and receptor trafficking may regulate ICAM-1-dependent adhesion at the site of vascular injury and endothelial cell activation.

[Correlation of IgA class antigliadin and antiendomysial antibodies (IgA-AGA-IgA-EMA) with intestinal histology in celiac disease]. / Correlación de anticuerpos antigliadina y antiendomisiales clase IgA (AGA-IgA-EMA-IgA) con la histologia intestinal en la enfermedad celiaca (E C).

The aim of this work was to establish the diagnostic and follow up value of IgA-class antiendomysium (IgA-EmA) and IgA-class antigliadin (IgA-AGA) antibodies in celiac disease. Correlation with the intestinal histology at the different stages of the disease was evaluated, as well as its therapeutic monitoring ability. Fifty six children, twenty seven girls and twenty nine boys, aged six months to twelve years old, were studied. Thirty nine celiac children were al different diagnostic stages of the disease. Seventeen children with malabsorption symptoms and with normal intestinal histology were used as controls. Sixty blood samples were obtained simultaneously with the small intestinal biopsy. IgA-AGA (ELISA method) and IgA-EmA (immunofluorescent test performed over lower third Rhesus monkey esophagus) were determined in every blood sample. In 34 serum samples from patients with total or subtotal villous atrophy, two were negative for IgA-AGA and only one was negative for IgA-EmA. In 26 samples from patients with normal intestinal histology, two were positive for IgA-AGA and four were positive for IgA-EmA. The results for IgA-EmA had sensitivity 97%, specificity 84.6%, positive predictive value 89.2% and negative predictive value 95%. In the case of IgA-AGA were: sensitivity 94.1%, specificity 92.3%, positive predictive value 94.1%, negative predictive value 92.3%. IgA-AGA and IgA-EmA showed a high correlation with intestinal histology and are in combination powerful tools for the diagnosis and follow up of celiac patients. Besides, they provide a useful aid in the indication of a jejunal biopsy and in close monitoring of the dietary treatment compliance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Correlación de anticuerpos antigliadina y antiendomisiales clase IgA (AGA-IgA-EMA-IgA) con la histologia intestinal en la enfermedad celiaca (E C). / [Correlation of IgA class antigliadin and antiendomysial antibodies (IgA-AGA-IgA-EMA) with intestinal histology in celiac disease]

The aim of this work was to establish the diagnostic and follow up value of IgA-class antiendomysium (IgA-EmA) and IgA-class antigliadin (IgA-AGA) antibodies in celiac disease. Correlation with the intestinal histology at the different stages of the disease was evaluated, as well as its therapeutic monitoring ability. Fifty six children, twenty seven girls and twenty nine boys, aged six months to twelve years old, were studied. Thirty nine celiac children were al different diagnostic stages of the disease. Seventeen children with malabsorption symptoms and with normal intestinal histology were used as controls. Sixty blood samples were obtained simultaneously with the small intestinal biopsy. IgA-AGA (ELISA method) and IgA-EmA (immunofluorescent test performed over lower third Rhesus monkey esophagus) were determined in every blood sample. In 34 serum samples from patients with total or subtotal villous atrophy, two were negative for IgA-AGA and only one was negative for IgA-EmA. In 26 samples from patients with normal intestinal histology, two were positive for IgA-AGA and four were positive for IgA-EmA. The results for IgA-EmA had sensitivity 97

, specificity 84.6

, positive predictive value 89.2

and negative predictive value 95

. In the case of IgA-AGA were: sensitivity 94.1

, specificity 92.3

, positive predictive value 94.1

, negative predictive value 92.3

. IgA-AGA and IgA-EmA showed a high correlation with intestinal histology and are in combination powerful tools for the diagnosis and follow up of celiac patients. Besides, they provide a useful aid in the indication of a jejunal biopsy and in close monitoring of the dietary treatment compliance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[The correlation of IgA-class antigliadin and antiendomysial antibodies (AGA-IgA--EmA-IgA) with the intestinal histology in celiac disease (CD)]. / Correlación de anticuerpos antigliadina y antiendomisiales clase IgA (AGA-IgA--EmA-IgA) con la histología intestinal en la enfermedad celíaca (EC).

The aim of this work was to establish the diagnostic and follow up value of IgA-class antiendomysium (IgA-EmA) and IgA-class antigliadin (IgA-AGA) antibodies in celiac disease. Correlation with the intestinal histology at the different stages of the disease was evaluated, as well as its therapeutic monitoring ability. Fifty six children, twenty seven girls and twenty nine boys, aged six months to twelve years old, were studied. Thirty nine celiac children were all different diagnostic stages of the disease. Seventeen children with malabsorption symptoms and with normal intestinal histology were used as controls. Sixty blood samples were obtained simultaneously with the small intestinal biopsy. IgA-AGA (ELISA method) and IgA-EmA (immunofluorescent test performed over lower third Rhesus monkey esophagus) were determined in every blood sample. In 34 serum samples from patients with total or subtotal villous atrophy, two were negative for IgA-AGA and only one was negative for IgA-EmA. In 26 samples from patients with normal intestinal histology, two were positive for IgA-AGA and four were positive for IgA-EmA. The results for IgA-EmA had sensitivity 97%, specificity 84.6%, positive predictive value 89.2% and negative predictive value 95%. In the case of IgA-AGA were: sensitivity 94.1% specificity 92.3%, positive predictive value 94.1%, negative predictive value 92.3%. IgA-AGA and IgA-EmA showed a high correlation with intestinal histology and are in combination powerful tools for the diagnosis and follow up of celiac patients. Besides, they provide a useful aid in the indication of a jejunal biopsy and in close monitoring of the dietary treatment compliance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Correlación de anticuerpos antigliadina y antiendomisiales clase IgA (AGA-IgA--EmA-IgA) con la histología intestinal en la enfermedad celíaca (EC). / [The correlation of IgA-class antigliadin and antiendomysial antibodies (AGA-IgA--EmA-IgA) with the intestinal histology in celiac disease (CD)]

The aim of this work was to establish the diagnostic and follow up value of IgA-class antiendomysium (IgA-EmA) and IgA-class antigliadin (IgA-AGA) antibodies in celiac disease. Correlation with the intestinal histology at the different stages of the disease was evaluated, as well as its therapeutic monitoring ability. Fifty six children, twenty seven girls and twenty nine boys, aged six months to twelve years old, were studied. Thirty nine celiac children were all different diagnostic stages of the disease. Seventeen children with malabsorption symptoms and with normal intestinal histology were used as controls. Sixty blood samples were obtained simultaneously with the small intestinal biopsy. IgA-AGA (ELISA method) and IgA-EmA (immunofluorescent test performed over lower third Rhesus monkey esophagus) were determined in every blood sample. In 34 serum samples from patients with total or subtotal villous atrophy, two were negative for IgA-AGA and only one was negative for IgA-EmA. In 26 samples from patients with normal intestinal histology, two were positive for IgA-AGA and four were positive for IgA-EmA. The results for IgA-EmA had sensitivity 97

, specificity 84.6

, positive predictive value 89.2

and negative predictive value 95

. In the case of IgA-AGA were: sensitivity 94.1

specificity 92.3

, positive predictive value 94.1

, negative predictive value 92.3

. IgA-AGA and IgA-EmA showed a high correlation with intestinal histology and are in combination powerful tools for the diagnosis and follow up of celiac patients. Besides, they provide a useful aid in the indication of a jejunal biopsy and in close monitoring of the dietary treatment compliance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)