Celiac Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Celiac Disease, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, causes, diet.

Idiopathic chronic urticaria and celiac disease.

Gabrielli M, Candelli M, Cremonini F, Ojetti V, Santarelli L, Nista EC, Nucera E, Schiavino D, Patriarca G, Gasbarrini G, Pola P, Gasbarrini A

Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.

Idiopathic chronic urticaria (ICU) is a chronic relapsing cutaneous disease. Some case reports or studies on small series of celiac disease (CD) patients have suggested a possible association between CD and ICU. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of CD in a population of adults ICU patients with respect to healthy controls. We consecutively enrolled 80 patients affected by ICU and 264 blood donors as the control population without a history of ICU. Serum anti-transglutaminase IgG and anti-endomysium IgA antibodies were evaluated in all subjects. In the case of positivity to serology, diagnosis was confirmed by duodenal biopsy. One of 80 (1.25%) ICU patients were positive to both anti-transglutaminase and anti-endomysium antibodies. Duodenal biopsy showed partial villous atrophy. One control of 264 (0.38%) had CD. No statistical difference was found in the prevalence of CD between the two groups. ICU patients do not seem to bear a greater risk for CD compared to the general population.

Published 31 August 2005 in Dig Dis Sci, 50(9): 1702-4.
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