Monday, May 7, 2007

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Veterinarian Discusses Pet Food Recall

Veterinarian Dr. Robert Slade joins Jeff to talk about the pet food contamination. More information at the links below on the recall.

Rob Slade, DVM

Veterinarian

 FDA Release of Pet Food Poisoning
Menu Foods Recall Information

Celiac Disease

World renown celiac disease expert Dr. Alessio Fasano joins Jeff for the latest on the disease that affects an average of 1/133 Americans and up to 1/22 for those associated with risk factors. Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the small intestine. Specifically, tiny fingerlike protrusions, called villi, on the lining of the small intestine are lost. Nutrients from food are absorbed into the bloodstream through these villi. Without villi, a person becomes malnourished—regardless of the quantity of food eaten. Although treatments are in development, right now adhering to a gluten-free diet is the only known treatment. Because the body's own immune system causes the damage, celiac disease is considered an autoimmune disorder. However, it is also classified as a disease of malabsorption because nutrients are not absorbed. Celiac disease is also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease is a genetic disease, meaning that it runs in families. Sometimes the disease is triggered—or becomes active for the first time—after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress.

What are the symptoms? Celiac disease affects people differently. Some people develop symptoms as children, others as adults. One factor thought to play a role in when and how celiac appears is whether and how long a person was breastfed—the longer one was breastfed, the later symptoms of celiac disease appear and the more atypical the symptoms. Other factors include the age at which one began eating foods containing gluten and how much gluten is eaten.

Dr. Alessio Fasano

Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Director, Center for Celiac Research
 Dr. Fasano
Celiac Central

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