Washington, DC - November 24, 2009 - The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) announces an audioconference on Celiac Disease: Advances in Testing and Treatment to be held on January 20, 2010, at 2:00pm EST. The audioconference will last 90 minutes.
Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. A severely underdiagnosed disorder, celiac disease affects about 1 in 100 people in North America although only about 1 in 4,700 are being diagnosed with the disorder. With non-specific symptoms such as abdominal bloating and pain, chronic diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and weight loss, the disease is often diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or some other disorder unless the right tests are performed. Untreated, the disease damages the small intestine, interferes with the absorption of nutrients, and can trigger a variety of autoimmune system responses that can further damage the body, including osteoporosis, infertility, psychiatric and behavioral disorders, or cancer.
Celiac disease has appeared on the ‘radar screens’ of both clinicians and consumers as celebrities tell their stories of the struggle for diagnosis. The disease’s profile was raised considerably when Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of ABC’s The View, launched her book The G-free Diet: A Gluten-free Survival Guide. As more consumers hear stories like Hasselbeck’s, and talk to their doctors about whether their symptoms warrant further investigation, laboratories are likely to experience an increase in testing for this disorder.
The expert panel for the audioconference includes Alessio Fasano, M.D., Professor and Director of the Mucosal Biology Research Center, and Director, Center for Celiac Research, at University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD and Peter H.R. Green, M.D., Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, and Director of The Celiac Disease Center, at Columbia University, New York, NY. The audioconference also features an opportunity to hear from Wendy Atkinson, a mother of two, who has been diagnosed with the disease. Moderating the audioconference is James D. Faix, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA.
AACC invites interested journalists to participate in this timely audioconference. Conducted in a radio talk show format, you will hear the patient tell how she was diagnosed with celiac disease; interviews with the panel who will also comment on the patient’s case; discussions about current testing technologies and how clinicians use them in diagnosing and managing celiac disease; and the pathophysiology of celiac disease and the new therapies that are being used to treat it. For a complimentary press registration, complete and submit a Press Registration Form.
For more information about the audioconference or AACC, visit the AACC website or contact Peter Patterson on either of the above telephone numbers.