*Not Directly MS*- A 'Cure' for Coeliac's (Celiac's) Disease?

[Guest guest]

I know quite a few MSers have Coeliac's Disease (like my Brother), or

an intollerance to Gluten etc. Adam:

Enzyme Could Help Celiac Disease Patients Tolerate Gluten

June 28, 2006 08:47:54 PM PST

Yahoo! Health: Allergy News

WEDNESDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with celiac disease

have to carefully monitor their diet to avoid consuming gluten, a

ubiquitous protein found in whole grains.

Now, researchers say a newly discovered enzyme may prevent an

allergic reaction in celiac patients who have accidentally consumed

gluten.

Gluten causes an inflammatory reaction that can lead to significant

intestinal damage in people suffering from celiac disease. The

damage prevents the intestine from properly absorbing nutrients from

food. Avoiding gluten in the diet prevents this damage, but the risk

of accidentally ingesting gluten remains high.

However, researchers at Stanford University say they've identified

an enzyme called EP-B2 that successfully digested gluten in an

acidic environment similar to that of a human stomach. The enzyme

even broke down the elements of the protein associated with causing

the inflammatory reactions in celiac patients.

" Non-dietary therapies that allow celiac patients to safely

incorporate low-to-moderate levels of gluten into their daily diet

would be of considerable benefit, " study author Dr. Chaitan Khosla,

of Stanford University and the Celiac Sprue Research Foundation,

said in a prepared statement. " Having demonstrated earlier that

certain types of enzymes can detoxify gluten, our laboratory set out

to devise an optimal oral enzyme therapy for celiac sprue by

borrowing from nature, " Khosla said.

" In germinating barley seed, gluten serves as a nutritious storage

protein that is efficiently digested by enzymes. One enzyme, EP-B2,

plays a crucial role in this process by breaking gluten proteins

after glutamine residues, which comprise one-third of all amino acid

residues in gluten, " Khosla added.

Khosla's team used a combination of EP-B2 and PEP, another enzyme

known to digest gluten. The two enzymes together broke down and

detoxified gluten within 10 minutes. Neither was effective when used

alone.

" Our results suggest that recombinant EP-B2 should be effective as

supportive therapy to help celiacs cope with the 'hidden' gluten in

everyday life, and that a two-enzyme cocktail containing PEP and EP-

B2 may even allow celiacs to resume a more normal diet in the

future, " concluded Khosla.

Results from the study are reported in the June issue of Chemistry

and Biology.