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Celiac disease (CD) is a common digestive disease in persons of European descent. It is also known as celiac sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, or nontropical sprue. In individuals with CD, gluten (a protein in wheat, barley, and rye) damages the small intestine and results in difficulty absorbing nutrients from food. Up to 1 in 113 people in the United States have CD. The risk is higher (1 in 22) in people with a first-degree relative with CD. The cause of CD is unknown, but environmental, immunologic, and genetic factors all contribute. The September 16, 2009, issue of JAMA includes an article about CD.

CAUSE AND PATHOLOGY

It is believed that there is an immunologic (having to do with the immune system) aspect to CD. Several autoantibodies (antibodies are normal parts of the body that fight against something trying to invade it; autoantibodies are abnormally directed against one's own body) are found in the blood . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Huan J. Chang, MD, MPH, Writer; Alison E. Burke, MA, Illustrator; Richard M. Glass, MD, Editor

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