Celiac Disease: ORGENTEC Diagnostika Launches New Blood Tests

Mainz, 09. July 2010 – ORGENTEC Diagnostika (orgentec.com), developer of blood test systems, has launched three new diagnostic tests for diagnosing celiac disease. This new test line completes ORGENTEC’s product portfolio for accurate diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders.

Celiac disease is an (auto)immunologically mediated intestinal intolerance to proteins (gluten) from wheat and other cereals in genetically predisposed children and adults. Despite initial estimates, celiac disease is more common than previously assumed. Besides classical celiac disease with fully expressed symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, weight lost and failure to thrive, especially in adults, the disease can occur with atypical milder symptoms and in latent forms.

Serological diagnosis of celiac disease is based on determination of autoantibodies against tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG antibodies, anti-tTG) and antibodies directed against native gliadin (anti-gliadin antibodies, AGA), a component of gluten. Whereas serum autoantibodies to tissue transglutaminase are highly specific markers for celiac disease, antibodies to gliadin have lost in importance for diagnosis. But they are still used for monitoring of adherence to the gluten-free diet which is until now the only cure for the disease.

Native gliadin is a mixture of several proteins with varying immunogenic potential. Recently, several gliadin epitopes have been identified that are capable of inducing a strong immune response. These epitopes are generated via deamidation of gliadin by the enzyme tissue transglutaminase (tTG). The use of these deamidated gliadin proteins, DGP, in the ORGENTEC Anti-DGP assays has significantly improved the usefulness of gliadin antibodies for diagnosis of celiac disease.

Celiac disease is prevalent in up to 1% in Europe and in populations of European ancestry. Even though the rate of diagnosis has increased in recent years, the majority of affected individuals are still undiagnosed. Diagnosing celiac disease is important, because a gluten-free diet typically resolves symptoms and can prevent subsequent long-term damages. Because celiac disease is spread worldwide and has also been found in regions where it was considered extremely rare, greater levels of awareness and attention on gluten intolerance are needed in both the Old and the New World.

About ORGENTEC Diagnostika:
ORGENTEC Diagnostika develops, manufactures and markets reagents and test kits for autoimmune disease detection. Products are for the determination of various antibodies in patient serum: ELISA test systems, blot tests, immunofluorescence tests and reagents, random access analyzer Alegria® for autoimmune diagnostics, rapid test rheumachec® for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis. www.orgentec.com

ORGENTEC Diagnostika GmbH
Public Relations
Tobias Stolzenberg
Dr. Friederike Hammar
Carl-Zeiss-Strasse 49
55129 Mainz, Germany
Tel. +49 6131 9258-677, -674
Fax +49 6131 9258-58
pr@orgentec.com
www.orgentec.com
www.autoimmunityblog.wordpress.com

This release was published on openPR.