Celiac Sprue Explained

Celiac sprue is a chronic disease that occurs when there is interference in your body's natural process of digesting and absorbing the nutrients from the food you take. Celiac sprue is also known as celiac disease, gluten-induced enteropathy and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. A patient under this condition will have difficulty tolerating gluten which is a protein usually found in barley, wheat, rye and oats. For affected individuals, the lining - or mucosa - of the intestine gets damaged when they take in foods that contain gluten. This is due to the reaction of the body's immune system. Located along the lining of the intestine is an enzyme responsible for proper food digestion and absorption. Once these enzymes are destroyed, mal-absorption happens. This means that the body can no longer normally digest and absorb the food you take.

A gluten-free diet is one way of improving conditions of persons with celiac sprue. This should be followed strictly and if gluten is needed in the diet, it should be gradually and minimally introduced to the patient. Celiac sprue is rarely fatal when treated immediately but if unrecognized; it may increase the person's risk of developing intestinal lymphoma.

Celiac sprue is considered as a genetic disease. Is some cases, it may be transmitted only to a few family members. Surgery, pregnancy, viral infection, childbirth, and deep emotional stress have been attributed to the triggering of the disease. For people with African-American, Asian or Caribbean background, development of this disease is rare. Males are less susceptible compared to females and it can show signs at any age. The detection can peak at age 8-12 months or if the person is in his 30s or 40s.

There are no solid facts to show the exact prevalence of the celiac sprue. It was only realized that the disease is quite common when people were made aware of the symptoms and were provided with better diagnostic tests. Based on the latest data, prevalence of celiac sprue has been found in Western Europe, North America and Australia approximately affecting 1 of every 250-300 people.

Celiac sprue is usually caused by a combination of different factors: immune response, environment (gluten intake) and genetic. This disease will not likely develop unless the person has a combination of both genetic factor and exposure to gluten.

One critical factor in the development of celiac sprue is the interaction of specific gluten called gliadin with the lining of the small intestine. For people with celiac sprue, their immune system identifies gliadin as a threat and will produce antibodies called antigliadin that directly attacks the gluten.

There are two other antibodies which were found in the bloodstream of people suffering from celiac disease that are different from antigliadin: one targets endomysium (a small muscle in the intestine) and the other attacks the transglutaminase (an intestinal enzyme). These are called auto-antibodies. Their presence is an implication that autoimmunity also is also a factor of the development of celiac sprue.

It is also found out that the disease has 10% prevalence in relatives of the person directly affected with celiac sprue. This shows that genetics really play a role in the development of the disease.