History of Coeliac disease research

The symptoms of coeliac disease, including the wasting and characteristic stools, were described as early as the first century A.D.

Coeliac disease and it's dietary component was detailed in the medical literature in 1888.

In 1950, a Dutch paediatrician named Dicke proposed wheat gluten to be the cause of the disease. He based this theory on his observations that coeliac children improved during World War II when wheat was scarce in Holland.

Subsequent research isolated gliadin and the other peptides (mentioned in 'What the ? is Gluten?') as the portion of the gluten that triggered the intestinal damage.

In 1989, research indicated a significant reduction in malignancies when coeliac disease was treated with a gluten-free diet.

Researchers continue to investigate coeliac disease, honing in on the exact causes and implications for treatment.