Celiac Disease (cont.)
What is latent and silent celiac disease?
The terms latent and silent celiac disease are used to refer to patients who have
inherited the genes that predispose them to celiac disease but have not yet
developed the symptoms or signs of celiac disease.
Latent celiac disease refers specifically to patients who have abnormal
antibody blood tests for celiac disease (see discussion of specific tests for
celiac disease) but who have normal small intestines and no signs or symptoms of
celiac disease. For example:
- Some patients may have had a childhood onset of
celiac disease and the disease may have been successfully treated with a
gluten-free diet. The patients' intestines may have resumed a normal
appearance and function, and they may have no signs or symptoms of celiac
disease.
- Some patients with celiac disease in childhood abandon the
gluten free diet
as adults, yet they remain free of the signs or symptoms of celiac disease.
In both of the above instances, the celiac disease is latent, and the patients
can develop signs and symptoms of celiac disease later in life.
Silent celiac disease refers to patients who have abnormal antibody blood tests
for celiac disease as well as loss of villi in the small intestine but have no
symptoms or signs of celiac disease, even on a normal diet that contains gluten.
Like patients with latent celiac disease, these patients can develop signs or
symptoms of celiac disease later in life.
What diseases are associated with celiac disease?
The following are diseases associated with celiac disease:
- An estimated 10% of patients with celiac disease also have
dermatitis herpetiformis.
Dermatitis herpetiformis is a disease of the skin that is characterized by an
itchy rash on the extremities, buttocks, neck, trunk, and scalp.
- Recurrent painful mouth ulcers (aphthous
stomatitis)
- Insulin-dependent diabetes (juvenile-onset or
type 1 diabetes)
- Autoimmune thyroid disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Systemic lupus
Next: How is celiac disease diagnosed? »
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