Related Experiment Videos
Endomysial antibody screening in children
K N Chan1, A D Phillips, R Mirakian
1Academic Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, London, United Kingdom.
Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
|April 1, 1994
Summary
Endomysial antibodies show a strong association with coeliac disease in children. However, a small bowel biopsy remains essential for accurate diagnosis, as not all positive antibody results indicate the disease.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Immunology
- Diagnostic Markers
Background:
- Coeliac disease diagnosis in children often relies on serological markers.
- Endomysial antibodies (EmA) have been proposed as specific indicators for coeliac disease.
Observation:
- A 13-month study investigated the utility of serum IgA class endomysial antibodies in diagnosing coeliac disease in pediatric patients.
- Out of 223 serum samples, 9.4% tested positive for EmA, with varying degrees of positivity.
- Small bowel biopsies were performed on 134 children.
Findings:
- All children diagnosed with coeliac disease and exhibiting severe villous atrophy on a gluten-containing diet had positive EmA.
- However, some children with positive or weak-positive EmA results did not have coeliac disease.
- These non-coeliac cases included one with cow-milk-sensitive enteropathy and others with normal small bowel mucosa.
Implications:
- Endomysial antibodies are a valuable screening tool for coeliac disease in children, demonstrating a high correlation.
- The study underscores that positive EmA results alone are insufficient for a definitive diagnosis.
- Small bowel biopsy remains the gold standard for confirming coeliac disease, even with positive serology.