[Anti-beta-lactoglobulin antibodies as an index of increased intestinal permeability in celiac disease].

IgG antibodies to beta-lactoglobulin (ABLG) were assayed in children with coeliac disease (20 at gluten-containing diet and 35 at gluten-free diet) and in 28 "gastrointestinal" controls. Pathologic levels of ABLG were found in 16 patients with active coeliac disease (80%). In these patients the ABLG mean value was significantly higher than that found in the controls (p less than 0.001). In coeliac subjects at gluten-free diet, normal levels of ABLG were found after 6 months of diet. The presence of ABLG in the majority of untreated coeliac patients may reflect an increased permeability of the intestinal mucosa during the active stage of the disease.