A new non-invasive technique makes it possible to detect whether a child has celiac disease with a simple finger stick
Scientists from the ibs.GRANADA have developed a new, simple and non-invasive technique that makes it possible to detect whether a child between 2 and 4 years of age has celiac disease without the need for a blood draw.
Furthermore, this system does not require experienced personnel (although the interpretation must be carried out by healthcare personnel), it is fast (it takes 10 minutes) and inexpensive (10-12 euros per device) and most importantly, in the case of children. , is that it is a less invasive method than blood extraction.
This work has been developed by Maria Vega Almazan Fernandez de Bobadilla, researcher at the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Granada, and directed by Jose Maldonado Lozano. Part of their results have been published in the magazine Pediatric Research.
As the author, a pediatrician at the Health Center of Maracena (Granada), explains, “the idea of carrying out this work arose to try to answer the clinical question that arose from my daily clinical care: what is the hidden or silent prevalence of celiac disease? in our midst?
Silent celiac disease
Silent celiac disease is one that goes unnoticed in the eyes of the doctor because it has minor symptoms that are imperceptible even by the patient himself. Celiac disease is a systemic disease caused by a permanent intolerance to dietary gluten (contained in wheat, barley and rye) and affects people with genetic susceptibility. It manifests itself through intestinal symptoms (intestinal malabsorption, bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain) and with extradigestive symptoms (skin, joint pain, headache, etc.
Currently, diagnosing celiac disease requires a combination of clinical symptoms, a blood test for positive celiac disease antibodies, and a compatible histological study using intestinal biopsy.
The objectives of the study carried out at the University of Granada were to study the silent prevalence of celiac disease between 2 and 4 years of age, for which they used novel devices that allow the detection of disease markers (autoantibodies) in the capillary blood of the patient.
“A puncture in the pad of the child's finger is enough to extract a droplet of blood that will be deposited in the device and, in the event that the subject suffers from the disease, a pink line will appear, similar to that of blood tests. pregnancy, which means that there are autoantibodies characteristic of the disease in her blood”, explains Mª Vega Almazán.
Study with 198 children
A positive result from the device will require confirmation with blood tests and measurement of disease antibodies by other methods, but a negative result will rule out the disease fairly safely. "As we have seen in our study, a negative result of the strip reduced the probability of being celiac to zero, given its high negative predictive value."
This UGR study allowed the detection of 6 celiac children out of 198 studied (representing a very high prevalence of 3%, higher than the European average), when all of them were asymptomatic or with imperceptible minor symptoms that had not led to consultation with your pediatrician for this reason.
Confirmation of this diagnosis was made in the Children's Gastroenterology Unit of the Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Granada, where endoscopy and biopsy were performed in these 6 confirmed cases.
“This is a novel study, since at a Spanish and European level there are few studies published with these devices in an apparently healthy population -says Mª Vega Almazán-. Having this type of diagnostic method in the GP or pediatrician's office would make it possible to find cases of celiac disease that are not diagnosed due to their atypical symptoms and avoid unnecessary procedures and referrals, since a negative result would avoid the need for extraction blood or referral to specialized consultation.
Bibliographic reference:
Pediatric Res. 2015 Sep; 78 (3): 280-5. doi: 10.1038 / pr.2015.98. Epub 2015 May 21.