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Coeliac disease, also spelled celiac disease,〔See American and British English spelling differences.〕 and called celiac sprue, is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward. Symptoms include pain and discomfort in the digestive tract, chronic constipation and diarrhoea, failure to thrive (in children), anaemia〔 and fatigue, but these may be absent, and symptoms in other organ systems have been described. Vitamin deficiencies are often noted in people with coeliac disease owing to the reduced ability of the small intestine to properly absorb nutrients from food. Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to gliadin, a prolamin (gluten protein) found in wheat, and similar proteins found in the crops of the tribe Triticeae (which includes other common grains such as barley and rye). Upon exposure to gliadin, and specifically to three peptides found in prolamins, the enzyme tissue transglutaminase modifies the protein, and the immune system cross-reacts with the small-bowel tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. That leads to a truncating of the villi lining the small intestine (called villous atrophy). This interferes with the absorption of nutrients because the intestinal villi are responsible for absorption. The only known effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet.〔 While the disease is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins, it is usually classified as different from the other forms of wheat allergy. Increasingly, diagnoses are being made in persons without symptoms as a result of increased screening.〔 〕 Globally coeliac disease affects between 1 in 100 and 1 in 170 people; rates do, however, vary between different regions of the world from as few as 1 in 300 to as many as 1 in 40.〔 This condition has several other names, including c(o)eliac sprue, nontropical sprue, endemic sprue, and gluten enteropathy. The term "coeliac" is derived from the Greek κοιλιακός (''koiliakós'', "abdominal") and was introduced in the 19th century in a translation of what is generally regarded as an ancient Greek description of the disease by Aretaeus of Cappadocia. == Signs and symptoms == Severe coeliac disease leads to the characteristic symptoms of pale, loose, and greasy stool (steatorrhoea) and weight loss or failure to gain weight (in young children). People with milder coeliac disease may have symptoms that are much more subtle and occur in organs other than the bowel itself. It is also possible to have coeliac disease without any symptoms whatsoever.〔 Many adults with subtle disease only have fatigue or anaemia.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Coeliac disease」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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