[Rapid diagnosis of celiac-sprue syndrome]

A rapid method was developed to diagnose celiac-sprue disease, which was based on the detection of serum antibodies to gluten and simultaneous assessment of the histological structure of the upper small intestinal mucosa. Examinations of labelled lectin binding in the cryostat sections of the small intestinal mucosa, assessment of the status of the regional T-lymphocyte system, and identification of blood autoantibodies to reticuline or epithelial cells of the small intestine provide additional information on the course of the disease. The diagnosis is made within 2-3 hours.