International symposium to focus on celiac disease and gluten-related disorders

Preliminary results from a multinational project to study the impact of early childhood nutrition on celiac disease will be among the highlights of this month's 15th International Celiac Disease Symposium, hosted by the University of Chicago Medicine Celiac Disease Center.

The conference, the largest celiac disease and gluten-related disorders conference in the world, will be held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers from Sept. 22 to 25, 2013. The symposium, which follows the 2011 meeting in Oslo, Norway, is expected to attract an estimated 1,000 participants.

The meeting will bring together the world's top scientists and physicians to discuss the most recent scientific advances in managing and treating celiac disease and gluten-related disorders.

Headlining the symposium, Luisa Mearin from Leiden, the Netherlands, will present preliminary results of the PreventCD, a large research project that follows almost 1,000 children from high-risk families in seven European countries and Israel to study the influence of different practices of early nutrition in the development and/or prevention of celiac disease.

Other research presentations include:

• Renata Auricchio from the University of Naples Federico II in Italy will present results from a longitudinal study following 210 children predisposed to celiac disease to explore the genetic and environmental risk factors associated with the development of gluten-induced damage to the intestine.
• Edwin Liu from Children's Hospital Colorado will present findings from The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study assessing the risk for early development of celiac disease in children with selected genetic backgrounds.
• Alfonso Rodriguez-Herrera from Pablo de Olavide University in Spain will report on a method of analyzing fecal samples to monitor gluten-free diet compliance in pediatric patients.
• Daniel Adelman from Alvine Pharmaceuticals will discuss the status of clinical trials for the development of a novel investigational drug as a potential treatment for celiac disease.
• Clifford Kiat from University Hospital Galway in Ireland will present his findings on using stem cell transplantation as a treatment for refractory celiac disease.

In addition, celiac experts will lead a series of discussion sessions. Among them:

• Donald Kasarda from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the impact of changes in wheat varieties grown in the United States has had on celiac disease incidence.
• Joe Murray and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic on new treatments for celiac disease that have reached clinical trials and could complement the gluten-free diet.
• Evan Newnham, a gastroenterologist from Melbourne, Australia, on a case-based discussion aiming to demystify the controversial area of non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
• Yolanda Sanz and colleagues from the Spanish National Research Council on the role gut microbiota may play in celiac disease, based on evidence from research in at-risk infants and experimental models.

An abstract booklet containing a complete list of research presentations is available upon request, and a workspace for credentialed members of the media will be provided onsite. For more information on ICDS Chicago, including registration, program schedules, travel, CME and press inquiries, visit icds2013.org.