New Blood Test For Celiac Disease Does Not Require Patients To Consume Gluten, Study Finds

HealthDay (6/20, Thompson) reported a new blood test “looks for a specific immune response to gluten within a person’s blood, and can detect celiac disease even if a person is on a gluten-free diet for their GI symptoms.” The researchers “developed the test based on an unexpected discovery in 2019, when a team found that the immune marker interleukin 2 spikes in the bloodstream of people with celiac disease after they eat gluten. Based on this, the researchers created a test that provokes this immune response by exposing blood samples to gluten in a test tube.” According to the study, “the test proved 90% accurate in identify people with celiac disease, and 97% accurate in ruling out folks who don’t have the disorder.” Researchers concluded, “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 celiac disease.” The study was published in Gastroenterology.