Celiac Disease and Its Symptoms - Research Paper Example

? Celiac Disease al Affiliation Celiac Disease Introduction In early days, man life was entirely based on hunting and gathering for food. The food items included fruits, nuts, and meat. However, after agricultural revolution man changed the feeding habits. At this time, cultivation of plants was invented a habit of the agricultural revolution. With this advent, there came various forms of food antigens. This led to the development of celiac disease. However, it took long before its identification. This was only possible 8,000 years later where a Greek physician known as Aeretaeus of Cappadocia described the disease (National Celiac Awareness, 2010). He named the disease as “Koiliakos” a Greek word that means abdomen (National Celiac Awareness, 2010). Even after naming of the disease, there was no idea of how people suffering from the condition could be treated. The advance was only possible after Dr. Baillie’s finding that the condition could be reversed by eating only rice (Celiac Sprue Association, 2012). These findings remained unnoticed for 75 years. However, Dr. Gee took notice of the observations and performed clinical trials on children and adults with celiac disease while working in United Kingdom (National Celiac Awareness, 2010). The other key milestone to the discovery of treatment of the disease was a doctoral thesis written by Dr. Dicke in 1953. He outlined the treatment of the disease. He noted that ingestion of wheat and not carbohydrate led to the development of the disease. In the 60s, there was an invention of a method of testing disease. This practice was known as a biopsy. However, doctors expressed reservations and could only diagnose people once they proved Gluten was the cause of the damage. This prompted more than one biopsy to be done on an individual. This was the custom for 20 years until Dr. Stefano showed that the presence of celiac could be found in 95% the cases by carrying out one biopsy (National Celiac Awareness, 2010). The condition affects people from different parts of the world. However, the condition is common in people with other genetic disorders. This paper seeks to explore on the celiac disease. Celiac Disease This autoimmune disease occurs when an individual fails to show tolerance to gluten. Gluten is a common name for proteins found in certain grains (“Celiac Disease”, n.d.). The proteins are detrimental to a person with the condition. They are found in all wheat, rye, barley, triticale, and related grains (“Celiac Disease”, n.d.). This disease affects both children and adult. In children suffering from the condition, the protein damages the lining of the intestines that play a role of taking nutrients from ingested food (The Nemours Foundation, 2013). After the damage, the body is unable to absorb various nutrients required to grow. Consequently, the infant becomes malnourished and underweight. This disease can result to different symptoms in different people. To the infants they may fail to gain weight and height. In older kids, they can experience diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, and painful skin rashes (The Nemours Foundation, 2013). Indeed, other individuals may fail to develop any symptom. There is no established mechanism as to what causes the immune system to act to gluten in people suffering from the disease. Moreover, there is no cure for the condition. However, researchers have been working on enzymes that could be used to prevent the digestion of the toxic part of the gluten that cause intestine breakdown (The Nemours Foundation, 2013). Symptoms There are various symptoms of the condition. In child life, the symptoms can occur at any time. In some, the symptoms are immediate while in others symptoms appear later in life after consuming gluten products for many years. The first symptom may occur to an infant shortly after being fed on cereal-based food. In such infant, they may include diarrhea and stomach pains, and they stop gaining weight in a healthy way (National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, 2011). There may also be skin rashes around the elbows, buttocks and knees. Later, a child may develop anemia and mouth sores and may become withdrawn or ill tempered. On the other hand, adults are less likely to develop digestive symptoms. Some of the adult’s symptoms include fatigue, arthritis, bone loss, depression, seizures, and infertility (U.S. Department of Health, 2012). Causes What lead to the development of the condition is yet to be established. However, the disease has been associated with other conditions such down syndrome, thyroid disorder, and immunoglobin IgA deficiency (The Nemours Foundation, 2013). Additionally, the condition tends to run in families. Therefore, if a history of the disease exists in the family, a child born in such a family is more prone to the condition. If the condition is not diagnosed early, in time it will lead to a serious health problem. Diagnosis This sometimes proves difficult, as some of the symptoms are confused to that of other diseases. Some of the symptoms can be confused with irritable bowel syndrome, iron deficiency anemia, and other intestinal infection. Therefore, the diagnosis of the disease is poorly carried undertaken. However, as knowledge of the condition increases, the reliable blood tests have become available, and detection rates are increasing. Various tests exist today. They include blood tests, intestinal biopsy, dermatitis biopsy, and screening (U.S. Department of Health, 2012). Blood test is used to determine the amount of antibodies. If the antibodies are extremely high, a biopsy is ordered. Treatment There is no treatment of the condition. The only thing is change of lifestyle whereby a person takes a glutted free diet. Through the help of a dietitian, one can identify foods that contain gluten so that one makes an informed choice when buying and eating foodstuff. If an individual is able to follow the diet, the symptoms will stop healing intestinal damage and prevent further damage. The small intestine heals in a period of 3 to 6 months in children while it is a prolonged process in adults (U.S. Department of Health, 2012). A healthy lifestyle means an individual has to avoid glutted for the rest of their life. In some individuals, there is no improvement even after consuming a gluten free diet. This is because a small amount of gluten is consumed from hidden sources of gluten that include additives made of wheat (U.S. Department of Health, 2012). It is only in a rare case that the condition will persist despite a strictly gluten free diet. Conclusion It is clear that the disease causes myriad of symptoms to individuals. However, it is clear that the disease can be avoided at an early stage. One can observe a defect in infant and rectify before worsening. On the other hand, a further research is required in the field of medicine so that a method of treatment of the condition is invented. This will reduce the agony experienced by patients especially at an adult stage. References “Celiac Disease”. Retrieved from http://www.celiac.org/index.php?view=article&catid=1%3Aabout-celiac-disease&id=3%3Aabout-celiac-disease&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=9 Celiac Sprue Association. (2012). History of Celiac Disease. Retrieved from http://www.csaceliacs.info/history_of_celiac_disease.jsp National Celiac Awareness. (2010). Celiac Disease. Retrieved from http://www.celiac.com/articles/22076/1/National-Celiac-Awareness-Month-and-History-of-Celiac-Disease/Page1.html National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. (2011). Celiac Disease. Retrieved from http://www.celiaccentral.org/Celiac-Disease/21/ The Nemours Foundation. (2013). Celiac Disease. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/digestive/celiac.html# U.S. Department Of Health. (2012). Celiac Disease. Retrieved from http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/ Read More