Open AccessAdult population screening for coeliac disease: comparison of tissue-transglutaminase antibody and anti-endomysial antibody tests
Author(s) -
C. Feighery,
Niall Conlon,
J. F. Jackson
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
european journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.881
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1473-5687
pISSN - 0954-691X
DOI - 10.1097/01.meg.0000243869.41207.f9
Subject(s) - medicine , coeliac disease , tissue transglutaminase , antibody , endomysium , immunopathology , population , immunology , disease , pathology , enzyme , biochemistry , environmental health , chemistry
Serological screening tests for coeliac disease have significantly advanced the diagnosis of this condition. The very high specificity (almost 100%) of anti-endomysial antibody detection has been repeatedly confirmed, whereas a lower specificity (90-95%) is found with anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody assays. In the study by Malekzadeh and colleagues, a group of study participants were identified with raised anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies, but the endomysial antibody test was negative in 86%. Although many of these participants were found to have raised intra-epithelial lymphocytes in their small intestinal mucosa, there is currently insufficient evidence to confidently diagnose gluten-sensitive disease in these patients. Hence, their report that a minimum prevalence of 1:104 of gluten sensitivity is found in the general population of Iran is likely to be an over-estimate and requires confirmation.