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October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month
By Senator Richard T. Moore September 29, 2008..It seems like every disease has a month or week designated to raise awareness about a condition so that people understand, obtain treatment, and perhaps donate to seek a cure. Even though I am deeply involved in health care, I didn't know about Celiac Disease until a few years ago when my late mother-in-law was diagnosed. Anita had known for some time that something was wrong with some of the things she ate, but her doctors determined only a few years ago that the cause was Celiac disease. It's essentially a type of allergy to anything made with wheat. Once we knew about the disease, we met local officials, clergy and others who have the disease and have to be very careful what they eat. It's not a new disease! Celiac sprue disease was first described in the second century, but it wasn't until the 20th century that rudimentary causative factors were identified. Terminology changed as research confirmed that celiac disease diagnosed in children was the same disease as non-tropical sprue diagnosed in adults. The term "celiac disease" is now most commonly used. Another term for the same condition includes "gluten sensitive enteropathy." The symptoms of celiac disease (CD) vary so widely among patients that there is no such thing as a "typical celiac". The amount of intestinal damage that has occurred and the length of time nutrient absorption has been abnormal seem to be the factors that determine the type and severity of symptoms experienced. It is interesting to note that some people with CD report no symptoms at all. According to C. Robert Dahl, MD, "Celiac Disease: The Great Mimic Presentation, "CSA Annual Conference, September 2000: "Celiac disease is one of the great mimics in gastroenterology in particular and medicine in general. Of 100 patients with CD, just over 10 percent present with classical overt symptoms of mal-absorption such as weight loss, diarrhea and nutritional deficiencies. About 10 percent are incorrectly diagnosed for some length of time, in some cases years. Forty percent present in an atypical manner, which leads to lengthy delay in diagnosis. About 33 percent of patients have clinically silent disease and 7 percent have latent CD (no symptoms or small bowel lesion but will develop CD later, or had disease at an early age and resolved)." Increasingly, restaurants are offering "gluten-free" menus or meal options for customers with celiac disease. One of my friends who is a Catholic priest has found a church-approved source for gluten-free Communion Hosts. The Catholic Church's Code of Canon Law permits priests to set aside a special wine chalice exclusively for worshippers following wheat- or gluten-free diets. This eliminates the possibility of the hosts accidentally contaminating the wine. The Canon Law also offers parishioners the alternative of drinking only wine or consuming low-gluten wafers. But for many afflicted individuals, low-gluten wafers are not an option because even a tiny amount of the protein can trigger immediate reactions. Recently however, another solution has been found thanks to the patience and perseverance of two nuns, Sisters Jane Heschmeyer and Lynn Marie D'Souza, of the Benedictine convent in Clyde, Missouri. Over two years of experiments they have developed a Communion wafer that has been approved as valid material for the Eucharist by the Holy See. With a level of gluten content of 0.01% it is safe enough for consumption by almost all celiac suffers, according to Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of Maryland and other medical experts. The U.S. bishops' Committee on the Liturgy has deemed the sisters' bread "the only true, low-gluten altar bread approved for use at Mass in the
United States." Fasano called the sisters' accomplishment "very If you, or someone you know, is dealing with celiac disease and would like to do something to help "get the word out," Celiac Awareness Month, sponsored by the Celiac Sprue Association, is the perfect opportunity. The list of things you could do is endless. Here are some things you might try:
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