Celiac Disease
Introduction
This is an autoimmune disease of the gastrointestinal tract. It is also known as celiac sprue, although this name is of less use unlike before. The term sprue simply represent a descriptive term in Dutch and it was used then as a term to describe a disease state characterized by diarrhea, emaciation, apthous stomatitis, and mal-absorption (Cited in Green & Cellier, 2007). Different components has been reported or implicated in the development of the condition. Important predisposing features are the diet, immune response, genetics and environmental factors. The genetic factor contributes in a minor population although there are several people with the ...