I recently underwent some testing because my doctors thought I might have Celiac disease. I was absolutely terrified at the thought of loosing the ability to eat my favorite foods such as bread, pastas, donuts, anything that has gluten in it will upset the digestive system. Currently the only treatment for Celiac disease is a gluten free diet. However, a new study now offers hope for those who have been diagnosed. Researchers have found that a naturally occurring enzyme, when re-engineered will break down gluten in the stomach into much smaller protein pieces. They say this will help it become less likely to trigger the autoimmune response that can create a wide range of painful and irritating symptoms.
This re-engineered enzyme called KumaMax, appears to be highly effective, at least in the testing phase. It dismantled more than 95% of a gluten peptide that is thought to cause celiac disease.
Ideally researchers will develop the enzyme into a food additive such as Beano or Gas-X and will offer it without a prescription. But this could take years to develop. If the researchers opt to make it a prescription drug, the process of clinical trials and obtaining the USFDA’s approval could take a decade or more.
One researcher says that for those who are hypersensitive this is probably not going to solve the problem. However it would allow them to go to dinner and in case any gluten ended up in their meal they wouldn’t have to worry about it. For those who are less sensitive, they could take one before each meal and eat anything they want.
Though there is still a lot to discover about how everything works exactly, the scientific community is taking novel approaches to helping people with celiac disease.
This pill is in its earliest phase. They still have to measure how it breaks down the gluten peptides that trigger a response and the speed in which it will protect the human
Celiac disease effects 2-3 million Americans. Those who have been diagnosed need an alternative and hopefully, before long, they’ll have one.
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