Celiac Disease—The Relative Importance of Wheat Gluten
This report is a continuation of an exploration by the group at the University of Birmingham of the suggestions proposed by the Dutch workers, Dicke, Weijers, and van de Kamer, reported in 1950 that children with celiac disease recover when wheat and rye flours are excluded from the diet. The gluten fraction of wheat and of rye appears to contain the harmful substance. The present study reports on the proportion of children with active celiac disease responding to a diet free from wheat or rye gluten. All but 2 of 30 children with celiac disease responded to diets free from wheat gluten. Improvement was manifested by elimination of clinical symptoms and coincident improvement of the indices of fat absorption. One of the children who did not respond to the diet was found to improve by the administration of bile salts; and a deficiency of bile salts was demonstrated in the duodenal contents. The other child who failed to improve was considered an example of fat intolerance which persisted after an attack of diarrhea. The series of observations concerning the role of gluten in the pathogenesis of celiac is the most significant advance in the understanding of this disorder which has been made for many years. The references provided will enable one to trace the development of this intersting concept. Further elucidation of the mechanism involved in the harmful effects produced by gluten should provide interesting chapters in the long search for understanding and treatment of one of the most troublesome and intriguing digestive disorders affecting infants and children.