The Greek physician

• A Greek physician, Aretaeus of Coppodocia, writing in the 2nd Century, described his patients who were affected with a digestive malady that contributed to weight loss and pallor. Using the Greek word "koiliakos," which literally means, "suffering in the bowels," the term "coeliacs" was coined to refer to those people who exhibited these symptoms. His writings were translated and brought to the attention of physicians in 1856.
  
  

Diet is Suspected

• In the early 19th century, Dr. Mathew Baillie published a report about his patients suffering this chronic disorder. He noted that some of his patients reduced their symptoms by switching to a diet consisting mostly of rice. In 1888, Dr. Samuel Gee of London conducted clinical studies of people with the disease, and concluded, "If the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet." He successfully documented that dietary changes did bring about improvement. It was soon believed that carbohydrates were to blame, based on lengthy food testing in patients. In 1924, the "banana diet" which restricted all carbohydrates but ripe bananas was so successful it became the standard treatment for many years. Shortages of grain in Europe during the war years provided other doctors with the opportunity to further confirm that when wheat, oat and rye were removed from the diet, the sufferers improved. It was further determined that a protein in some grains, but not all carbohydrates, was the triggering factor. That protein was identified as gluten.
  
  

Bowel Involvement is Confirmed

• Although the bowel had long been suspected as playing a role in celiac disease, it wasn't until 1954 that conclusive evidence was discovered. Dr. John W. Paulley began collecting tissue samples from patients having abdominal surgery, and confirmed that the lining of the bowel was indeed abnormal in celiac disease. He further showed that if the patient complied with a gluten-free diet, the bowel lining would return to normal.
  
  

Biopsies Become Standard

• With the development of Dr. Margot Shiner's procedure for obtaining a biopsy of the lining of the upper bowel, the biopsy became the standard means of diagnosis. However, the diagnosis involved the taking of biopsies both before and after going on the gluten-free diet. If healing was seen, gluten was again introduced, and another biopsy taken. If this subsequent biopsy showed the damage had returned, then the diagnosis of coeliac disease became official.
  
  

Connections to Other Disorders

• In the 1960s, a chronic skin disorder, dermatitis herpetiformis was linked to coeliac disease. Recognized as an autoimmune disorder, coeliac disease also became linked with Down syndrome, learning disabilities and autism.
  
  

Coeliac Disease Today

• Research continues to discover the exact cause of coeliac disease. Blood tests have revealed that people with coeliac disease have abnormal levels of certain antibodies. Genetic testing has revealed that the presence of certain genes indicate a higher risk of coeliac disease. Biopsy remains the conclusive diagnostic tool, but now it is generally accepted that only one biopsy is necessary. If the lining of the bowel is damaged, the diagnosis is coeliac disease.