The Effect of Gluten Free Diet on Clinical Symptoms and the Intestinal Mucosa of Patients With Potential Celiac Disease

In this prospective study, we evaluated the effect of gluten free diet (GFD) in a cohort of 65 children with potential celiac disease (PCD). Patients received GFD for signs/symptoms (N = 47) or parents' choice (N = 18). Most frequent signs/symptoms were low Body Mass Index (BMI) (36%), recurrent abdominal pain (34%) and diarrhea (19%). Of the 35/47 patients followed-up on GFD, only 54% (19/35) showed a complete clinical response. In 9/65 patients an intestinal biopsy was also performed after at least one year of GFD. No significant differences were observed in terms of Marsh grade (p = 0.33), lamina propria CD25+ cells (p = 0.80), CD3+ (p = 0.9) and γδ+ (p = 0.59) intraepithelial lymphocytes density and intestinal anti-TG2 deposits (p = 0.60).In conclusion, caution is necessary before attributing all symptoms to gluten in this condition.