A new blood test can detect if a person has coeliac disease without the need for them to be subjected to eating gluten.
Associate Professor Jason Tye-Din, Head of WEHI’s Coeliac Research Laboratory and a gastroenterologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, said every approved method to diagnose coeliac disease currently required people to eat gluten to monitor the reaction.
Associate Professor Tye-Din said coeliac disease was one of the most common autoimmune illnesses in Australia, caused by an immune reaction to the gluten protein found in wheat, rye and barley.
He said more than 350,000 Australians currently lived with the condition.
“By eliminating the need for a gluten challenge, we’re addressing one of the biggest deterrents in current diagnostic practices.”
Associate Professor Tye-Din said their world-first blood test for gluten-specific T cells could identify the condition in patients even when no gluten has been eaten.
He said the new test could boost rates of diagnosis, identify patients at risk of severe reactions to gluten and detect silent coeliac disease in people who are asymptomatic.
“While early diagnosis is critical to minimising long-term complications of the disease, up to 80 percent of cases around the world remain undiagnosed.”
Associate Professor Tye-Din said the current diagnostic process could be confusing for patients and non-specialist doctors, as the reduction in symptoms from a gluten free diet was not always a marker of coeliac disease.
He said current coeliac testing methods – serology blood tests or gastroscopy with intestinal biopsy – did not work reliably for those on a gluten-free diet, and require regular gluten consumption to be effective.
“As a result, many people are deterred from seeking a definite diagnosis because they do not want to consume gluten and be sick.
“There are likely millions of people around the world living with undiagnosed coeliac disease simply because the path to diagnosis is difficult, and at times, debilitating.
“This new test promises to simplify and speed up accurate diagnosis, while also avoiding the suffering that comes with eating gluten for extended periods to reactivate coeliac disease.”
Read the full study: Blood-based T Cell Diagnosis of Celiac Disease.
