Frequency of celiac disease is not increased among multiple sclerosis patients.

We evaluated the presence of IgA and IgG celiac disease-related antibodies in a sample of 217 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and in a sample of 200 controls not affected by neurological disorders. None of the 217 patients with MS presented IgG and IgA anti-gliadin, anti-endomysial antibodies, anti-tissue transglutaminase and anti-reticulin, whereas only one of the selected controls presented specific antibodies; this subject resulted to be effectively affected by celiac disease. Our data did not show an increased frequency of celiac disease among patients with MS.

Self-rated quality of life in celiac disease.

As much as 1% of the gluten-consuming world is gluten-intolerant. New screening methods are increasingly identifying gluten intolerance in individuals previously free from health problems. The often-abrupt major change in diet may adversely affect the patient's quality of life. Our aim was to evaluate self-perceived quality of life in a large cohort of adult celiac patients after at least one year of a gluten-free diet. In all 581 members (410 females) of five regional celiac societies were on a gluten-free regimen for at least one year. In this cross-sectional study, a modified version of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was administered to the 581 patients from five Italian regions. Most patients correctly defined celiac disease, and compliance with the gluten-free diet was high, although reporting bias cannot be excluded. Most felt well (83.6% "very well" and "well"); consequently, anxiety and depression scores were low. Happiness also scored low. Most participants did not feel that a gluten-free life differentiated them from the general population. Women and patients diagnosed after 20 years of age had better dietary compliance, but more problems in their social life. Happiness scores were higher in patients diagnosed before 20 years of age. Anxiety and depression were infrequent in this group; however, anxiety was frequently related to feeling different from the general population, and depression to an unsatisfactory sexual life. In conclusion, celiac disease does not appear to be associated to a low level of self-perceived quality of life in members of the Italian Celiac Society.

The first large population based twin study of coeliac disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The genetic load in coeliac disease has hitherto been inferred from case series or anecdotally referred twin pairs. We have evaluated the genetic component in coeliac disease by estimating the concordance rate for the disease among twin pairs in a large population based study. METHODS: The Italian Twin Registry was matched with the membership lists of a patient support group. Forty seven twin pairs were recruited and screened for antiendomysial (EMA) and antihuman-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) antibodies; zygosity was verified by DNA fingerprinting and twins were typed for HLA class II DRB1 and DQB1 molecules. RESULTS: Concordance rates for coeliac disease differ significantly between monozygotic (MZ) (0.86 probandwise and 0.75 pairwise) and dizygotic (DZ) (0.20 probandwise and 0.11 pairwise) twins. This is the highest concordance so far reported for a multifactorial disease. A logistic regression model, adjusted for age, sex, number of shared HLA haplotypes, and zygosity, showed that genotypes DQA1*0501/DQB1*0201 and DQA1*0301/DQB1*0302 (encoding for heterodimers DQ2 and DQ8, respectively) conferred to the non-index twin a risk of contracting the disease of 3.3 and 1.4, respectively. The risk of being concordant for coeliac disease estimated for the non-index twin of MZ pairs was 17 (95% confidence interval 2.1-134), independent of the DQ at risk genotype. CONCLUSION: This study provides substantial evidence for a very strong genetic component in coeliac disease, which is only partially due to the HLA region.