Down syndrome and coeliac disease: usefulness of antigliadin and antiendomysium antibodies.

The usefulness of antigliadin (AGA) and antiendomysium antibodies (EMA) as a screening test for coeliac disease (CD) in 113 Down syndrome (DS) patients (61 children) was evaluated. AGA IgA were present in 22.1%, AGA IgG in 48.6%, EMA in 6.2%. Four symptomatic patients, AGA- and EMA-positive, were affected by CD (3.5%). In three AGA-positive and EMA-positive subjects, permission for intestinal biopsy was refused, while in two AGA-positive and EMA-negative children, the intestinal mucosa was normal. Our study confirms the association of CD and DS, and suggests the usefulness of EMA determination as a test for selecting DS patients for intestinal biopsy.