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Celiac Disease Case Study
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Celiac Disease Case Study
What is the role of immunity and celiac disease?
Human health relies heavily on immunity, and the immune system significantly influences celiac disease’s onset and development. Gluten, a protein included in wheat, barley, and rye, causes the body’s immune system to respond in people with celiac disease, an autoimmune illness (Palanski et al., 2022). Due to the immune response, the small intestine becomes inflamed, the intestinal lining is harmed, nutrients are not properly absorbed, and numerous digestive issues arise. The most typical sign of celiac disease is diarrhea, which is also frequently accompanied by constipation and other gastrointestinal issues like bloating and pain in the abdomen.
What is the effect of gluten on celiac disease?
Gluten causes an immunological reaction in the small intestine that harms the villi, which are tiny, finger-like protrusions that line the intestinal tract and absorb foods that contain nutrients. This immune response is one of the effects of gluten on celiac disease (Howard & Urquhart-Law, 2019). Numerous symptoms are brought on by this destruction of the villi, including bloating, diarrhea, constipation, lethargy, anemia, and weight loss. When a person has celiac disease, their immune system wrongly views the proteins in gluten as a threat and launches an offensive against them. Gluten interferes with the body’s ability to absorb other nutrients, such as iron, calcium, and vitamins, leading to many complications (Demirkesen & Ozkaya, 2020). Chronic celiac disease, left untreated, can result in malnutrition, anemia, bone and joint discomfort, depression, and some cancer types. Celiac illness can only be managed by following a rigorous gluten-free diet.
Pathophysiology of diarrhea and constipation
As a result of damage to the villi in the small intestine, which results in improper food absorption, celiac disease’s pathophysiology of diarrhea and constipation develops. When the villi are injured, the body is unable to absorb the nutrients it needs from food because they are in charge of doing so (Corsetti et al., 2021). This may cause the body’s fluid and electrolyte levels to become unbalanced, which can cause diarrhea and constipation. Increase in risk of nutrient deficiencies, which can further exacerbate diarrhea and constipation, results from the body’s inability to absorb more nutrients as the villi become more damaged. In addition, the immunological reaction that results in celiac disease’s inflammation can make the small intestine more permeable, which can also result in diarrhea and discomfort.
References
Corsetti, G., Romano, C., Pasini, E., Testa, C., & Dioguardi, F. S. (2021). Qualitative nitrogen malnutrition damages the gut and alters the microbiome in adult mice. A preliminary histopathological study. Nutrients, 13(4), 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041089
Demirkesen, I., & Ozkaya, B. (2020). Recent strategies for tackling the problems in gluten-free diet and products. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62(3), 571–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2020.1823814
Howard, R. A., & Urquhart-Law, G. (2019). Psychological well-being of children and young people with coeliac disease. Paediatric Gastrointestinal Disorders, pp. 186–207. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429091346-12
Palanski, B. A., Weng, N., Zhang, L., Hilmer, A. J., Fall, L. A., Swaminathan, K., Jabri, B., Sousa, C., Fernandez-Becker, N. Q., Khosla, C., & Elias, J. E. (2022). An efficient urine peptidomics workflow identifies chemically defined dietary gluten peptides from patients with celiac disease. Nature Communications, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28353-1
QUESTION
Case Study
A 19-year-old co ed presents with increasing diarrhea and constipation over the last 2 weeks. She has a history of celiac disease.
- What is the role of immunity and celiac disease?
- What is the effect of gluten on celiac disease?
- Describe the pathophysiology of the diarrhea and constipation