Celiac disease: a reappraisal.

Abstract

During the last decade significant changes have occurred in our concepts of celiac disease. As a result of the implementation of sensitive and specific serologic tests, the epidemiology and clinical presentation of affected patients have been radically reconsidered. Extraintestinal manifestations of celiac disease have been radically reconsidered. Extraintestinal manifestations of celiac disease have been increasingly recognized, and the strict association with diseases recognized as autoimmune disorders is well established; celiac disease itself has many aspects of an autoimmune condition. Celiac disease is of interest to clinicians and scientists because it represents a valuable model for the comprehension of diseases in which environmental, genetic, and immunologic factors interplay.