Celiac disease- insufficiently recognized public health problem

Celijakija je autoimuna bolest koju karakteriziraju ozljede sluznice tankog crijeva i malapsorpcija hranjivih tvari, kod genetski osjetljivih osoba, kao odgovor na prehranu pšeničnim glutenom. I nakon mnogo godina raznih istraživanja, celijakija je izazovno stanje zbog stalnih novih saznanja o patofiziologiji, dijagnostici, liječenju i mogućim novim terapijskim postupcima. Glavni događaj u povijesti celijakije bila je identifikacija tkivne transglutaminaze kao autoantigena, čime je potvrđena autoimuna priroda ove bolesti. Genska pozadina obvezna je odrednica razvoja bolesti koja se javlja doprinosom okolišnih čimbenika. Simptomi bolesti su raznoliki te se ne manifestiraju samo na probavnom sustavu. Kao „zlatni standard“ dijagnostike uzima se biopsija tankog crijeva. Trenutno jedini način liječenja celijakije je cjeloživotna stroga dijeta bez glutena koja vodi poboljšanju kvalitete života, ublažava simptome i sprječava komplikacije. Od izrazite važnosti je educirati pacijenta o pravilnoj prehrani i načinu života s celijakijom. Postoje razne udruge oboljelih od celijakije kojima se preporuča da se učlane novooboljeli.Autoimmune disease called celiac disease is characterized by injuries to the lining of the small intestine and malabsorption of nutrients in genetically sensitive individuals in response to premature wheat gluten. Even after many years of various researches, celiac disease is a challenging condition due to constant new knowledge about pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment and possible new therapeutic procedures. History of these rare diseases was the identification of tissue transglutaminase as an autoantigen, which confirmed the autoimmune nature of the disorder. The genetic background informed about the determinant of disease development that occurs due to the contribution of environmental factor. The symptoms of the disease are varied and do not manifest only in the digestive system. They take a small bowel biopsy as the “gold standard” of diagnosis. The only way of treatment for celiac disease is available with strictly gluten-free portions that lead to improved quality of life, relive symptoms and prevent complications. It is extremely important to educate the patient about proper nutrition and lifestyle with celiac disease. There are various associations of celiac patients who are recommended to join new patients