[Onset of celiac disease after acute hepatitis B infection]

Celiac disease is characterized by small intestinal mucosal injury and nutrient malabsorption in genetically susceptible individuals following dietary ingestion of gluten. The pathogenesis of the disease involves interactions between environmental, genetic, and immunologic factors. Transient infections or increased permeability of the mucosa may facilitate disease onset induced by the uptake of gluten peptides into a microenvironmental milieu in the small intestinal mucosa. We present two patients with onset of celiac disease after resolution of acute hepatitis B virus infection. The physiopathology of celiac disease is discussed and possible explanations for this association are proposed.