A new Australian study may soon spare patients from undergoing difficult testing required to diagnose coeliac disease. The team is developing a blood test that can accurately detect coeliac disease without consuming gluten, potentially sparing patients from painful symptoms during testing.
Published in the journal Gastroenterology on Tuesday, the study was led by scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne. It found that a test measuring the immune marker interleukin-2 (IL-2) could diagnose coeliac disease with up to 90% sensitivity and 97% specificity, even in those following a strict gluten-free diet.
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Currently, diagnosing coeliac disease requires patients to eat gluten for weeks before further blood tests or an intestinal biopsy. This may trigger distressing symptoms like bloating, stomach pain, and diarrhoea, which usually discourage patients from getting tested.
The new approach uses a small blood sample mixed with gluten in a lab setting to check for an IL-2 response, essentially recreating the immune reaction outside the body. The study involved 181 participants aged 18–75, including people with diagnosed coeliac disease, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, and healthy controls.
Novoviah Pharmaceuticals, which helped develop the test, aims to bring the test into clinical use within two years.
“Millions may be living with undiagnosed coeliac disease simply because the current path to diagnosis is difficult and, at times, debilitating,” said Associate Professor Jason Tye-Din, senior author of the study and head of WEHI’s Coeliac Research Laboratory.
