A recent newsletter from the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center (1st Quarter 2014) shares some helpful information.
TABLE 1: CLINICAL SCENARIOS IN WHICH CELIAC DISEASE GENETIC TESTING MIGHT BE CONSIDERED
*Patients on a gluten-free diet without previous testing prior to gluten challenge
*Patients with borderline pathology
*Patients with non-responsive celiac disease
*At-risk groups: type I diabetics, autoimmune thyroiditis, unexplained abnormal liver function, young-onset osteoporosis among others
*Family members with confirmed Celiac Disease.
Dr. Sonia S Kupfer explains,
“Celiac disease genetics are complex, but the key point to understand is that having the right genes is necessary but not sufficient to cause the disease. This means that the genetics are only one part of the disease process and other “hits” are needed for disease to occur. While we don’t exactly know what these other factors are, they likely include gastrointestinal infections (“bad” bacteria or viruses), alterations in the gut microbiome (the “good” bacteria), age when gluten was introduced as an infant, length of time of breast-feeding, and other genetic and environmental factors.”
Eat Right and Bright 