Description
Celiac disease and Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH or Duhring’s disease), the two recognized forms of gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE), are small bowel malabsorption disorders.
The celiac disease is caused by the gliadin fraction of wheat gluten and similar proteins of rye and barley. The disease is manly manifested as chronic digestion insufficiency in children or young adults. In addition, patients with celiac disease have a greatly increased risk of developing malignant T-cell lymphoma of the small bowel. Patients with celiac disease may suffer from diarrhea, anaemia, fatigue, and musculoskeletal disorders. Dermatitis herpetiformis is a skin disease which is associated with celiac disease. All GSE patients have an increased risk of gastrointestinal malignancy, infertility and osteoporosis. A gluten-free diet can easily control GSE and the associated risks and is therefore of special interest. IgA in the gut is formed predominantly as secretory IgA (sIgA), which is secreted in the lumen of the intestine and could easily be detected in feces because of its stability.