Latest news with #JasonTye-Din
The Age
7 hours ago
- Health
- The Age
Think gluten makes you sick? A new test could tell you for sure
It's a terrible dilemma. Sick of suffering diarrhoea, fatigue and bloating, people who suspect they might have coeliac disease give up gluten and begin to feel better. But then a doctor orders them to keep eating bread for months. That's because coeliac disease can be diagnosed only if the body is reacting against gluten. Now Australian scientists have developed a new ultra-sensitive blood test for the disease that works even in people following a strict gluten-free diet. The researchers believe the test could one day replace the need for gastroscopies and biopsies of the intestine to check for damage, the current methods doctors use to confirm diagnosis. 'People want to get tested, but then they're told they have to go back to eating gluten, which is really difficult because it often makes them sick. We're talking a couple of slices of bread a day for six weeks,' lead author of the Gastroenterology study from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Associate Professor Jason Tye-Din, said. Loading The draining and tedious testing process is part of the reason the disease is underdiagnosed. One study estimated 80 per cent of people with the disease don't know they have it. 'It's an important lifelong condition. It can lead to infertility and osteoporosis and cancers,' he said. About 10 to 15 per cent of Australians are on gluten-free diets, but many are unsure if they have coeliac disease or just a gluten intolerance. (Both have similar symptoms but only coeliac disease results in long-term gut damage).
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Think gluten makes you sick? A new test could tell you for sure
It's a terrible dilemma. Sick of suffering diarrhoea, fatigue and bloating, people who suspect they might have coeliac disease give up gluten and begin to feel better. But then a doctor orders them to keep eating bread for months. That's because coeliac disease can be diagnosed only if the body is reacting against gluten. Now Australian scientists have developed a new ultra-sensitive blood test for the disease that works even in people following a strict gluten-free diet. The researchers believe the test could one day replace the need for gastroscopies and biopsies of the intestine to check for damage, the current methods doctors use to confirm diagnosis. 'People want to get tested, but then they're told they have to go back to eating gluten, which is really difficult because it often makes them sick. We're talking a couple of slices of bread a day for six weeks,' lead author of the Gastroenterology study from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Associate Professor Jason Tye-Din, said. Loading The draining and tedious testing process is part of the reason the disease is underdiagnosed. One study estimated 80 per cent of people with the disease don't know they have it. 'It's an important lifelong condition. It can lead to infertility and osteoporosis and cancers,' he said. About 10 to 15 per cent of Australians are on gluten-free diets, but many are unsure if they have coeliac disease or just a gluten intolerance. (Both have similar symptoms but only coeliac disease results in long-term gut damage).
