Serum Levels Of Anti-gliadin Antibodies Research Articles

Gluten Sensitivity among Egyptian Infants with Congenital Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND:Gastrointestinal symptoms are a common feature in infants with congenital heart disease.AIM:This study was designed to evaluate age-dependent serum levels of antigliadin antibodies among malnourished Egyptian infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) and gastrointestinal symptoms.SUBJECTS AND METHODS:This case-control study conducted on 60 infants with established congenital heart disease. They were subdivided into cyanotic and acyanotic groups, and each group includes 30 patients compared with thirty apparently healthy infants of matched age, sex, and social class. Serum antigliadin antibodies levels were measured using ELISA.RESULTS:The mean age of introduction of cereals in the diet and appearance of gastrointestinal symptoms were six months. On comparison with controls, patients showed highly significant higher serum levels of antigliadin antibodies (P < 0.000). On analysing risk factors using odds ratio, the age at onset of GIT symptoms, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and distension had been found to be significantly associated with high serum antigliadin antibodies among malnourished CHD infants with a prediction of 95%.CONCLUSION:Serum IgA, IgM, and IgG class antibodies to gliadin play a significant role in the pathogenesis of malnutrition in infants with CHD. Gluten containing foods should never be introduced before the end of the six months.

Two different doses of gluten show a dose‐dependent response of enteropathy but not of serological markers during gluten challenge in children with coeliac disease

In order to study dose‐dependency in histopathological reactions and in changes of serological markers of mucosal relapse, gluten challenge was performed with two defined amounts of gluten in 54 children with earlier enteropathy. Gluten was provided in the form of powder and the patients were randomly allotted to either 0.2 (group A, n= 27) or 0.5 (group B, n= 27) grams per kg body weight per day. At the start and after 4 wk of challenge a small intestinal biopsy was performed. Biopsy specimens were evaluated, in accordance with defined criteria, graded and summarized in an enteropathy score. Blood was sampled at the start and after 2 and 4 wk of challenge. Serum levels of anti‐gliadin antibodies (AGA) and anti‐endomysium antibodies (EmA) were measured. Within 4 wk of challenge, 24 out of 27 patients in group A and all patients in group B had relapsed. After increasing the gluten dose to 0.5 g/kg/d during the subsequent 4 wk, the three non‐relapsing patients also relapsed. Conclusion: The severity of mucosal inflammation was significantly higher for group B (p= 0.04) indicating a dose‐related severity of the enteropathy. No significant difference was found for maximum AGA level, or in the proportion of patients that converted to pathological values for AGA or EmA.

Increased serum levels of antigliadin antibodies in cystic fibrosis

Increased serum levels of antigliadin antibodies in cystic fibrosis

The Urinary Excretion of Polyethylene Glycol as a Test for Mucosal Integrity in Children with Celiac Disease

We compared the results of various noninvasive tests with small bowel histology in 61 children with celiac disease. The most sensitive predictors of small bowel histology were serum levels of anti-gliadin antibodies (AGAs) (90%) and the urinary excretion of polyethylene glycol (PEG) (69%). The sensitivity for the fecal fat analysis was 61% and for the D-xylose test 34%. The specificity was 96% for both the PEG and the D-xylose tests, 92% for the fecal fat, and 68% for AGAs. The predictive value of the PEG test was significantly better than that of D-xylose (p less than 0.05). The best combination of tests for the prediction of small bowel histology was the PEG test and the measurement of serum levels of AGAs. Agreement in the results of these two tests helps to time appropriately the second and third small bowel biopsies.

Influence of Genetic Factors on the Serum Levels of Antigliadin Antibodies in Celiac Disease

SummaryThe relationship between titers of antigliadin antibodies (IgA class and total immunoglobulins IgA, IgG, and IgM) and HLA‐DR antigens was studied in two random samples of unrelated Spanish children with celiac disease. One of these groups had been on a gluten‐free diet for at least 6 months and the other had been given a similar regimen followed by at least 6 months on a gluten‐containing diet. Children with celiac disease who had the DR7 antigen but not DR3 showed significantly higher antigliadin antibody titers on a gluten‐containing than on a gluten‐free diet, whereas those with DR3 but not DR7 did not show this difference. With respect to DR phenotypes, the children with DR3/DR7 and DR7/DR5 phenotypes had significantly higher antibody titers while consuming gluten than when on a gluten‐free diet. However, children with celiac disease with the DR31DR3 phenotype showed similar antigliadin antibody titers on both diets. The present results suggest that genetic factors in the DR region influence the humoral immune response to gliadin in celiac disease.