Why people with celiac disease suffer so soon after eating gluten
T cells in those with the autoimmune disorder rapidly dump immune chemicals into the blood
Researchers finally know why people with celiac disease get nauseous within hours of eating gluten.
Some immune cells dump stomach-churning levels of immune chemicals called cytokines into the blood soon after the cells encounter gluten, triggering symptoms, scientists report August 7 in Science Advances.
“When patients ate gluten, symptoms and cytokines went up at the same time,” says Robert Anderson, chief scientist of ImmusanT Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. The company develops vaccines to protect against autoimmune diseases.