Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 08/01/2004

...Dr Reading, an Australian doctor who cured a hundred Lupus [SLE] patients by [among other things] taking them off all grains except RICE and CORN. Dr Wright discussed the connection between a Lancet article recently reporting a link between the genetic marker HLA-B8 and 17 diseases with what he had learned from Dr Reading. All but one of the 17 diseases [Celiac Disease] arethought to be autoimmune diseases. Dr Wright deduced that if dietary restriction of gluten cured the one gene-linked disease known to have an external cause that perhaps all of the gene-linked diseases had an external cause and that it might just be gluten sensitivity!
I would bet on it!!
Here is the list of the diseases linked to the gene that might respond to restriction of gluten containing foods. My advice is that ANY patient with one of the following diagnoses be taken off ALL grain and ALL dairy products until their involvement is ruled out.
Addison's Disease
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Celiac disease
Childhood asthma
Chronic autoimmune hepatitis
Dermatitis herpetiformis
Grave's disease
Insulin dependent (type 1) Diabetes mellitus
Lupus erythematosis
Myesthenia gravis
Pernicious anemia [100% also suffer total lack of stomach acid]
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Scleroderma
Sjogren's syndrome
Thyrotoxicosis
Ulcerative colitis
Vitiligo
Dr Wright recommends the tTG test for gluten/gliadin sensitivity, a measure of tissue transglutaminase and supposedly the most sensitive test now available. Information from a website is included below for your convenience.
Other tests are the endomysial antibody test [EMA] for short lived antibodies and the antigliadin antibody [AGA] test for the longer lived IgA and IgG antibodies.
Be sure the patient has consumed gluten containing foods right up until test day or the tests might show negative even in gluten sensitive people.