[Clinical aspects of celiac disease. Comparison of 2 periods: before and after the introduction of antigliadin antibody determination in clinical practice].

The clinical aspects of coeliac disease before and after anti-gliadin antibodies (AGA) assessment in clinical practice, referring to personal experience (107 cases in the period 1976-1988) are described. AGA determination has executed by two different ELISA methods. The diagnosis of coeliac disease in the period 1976-1986 has been made according to ESPGAN criteria, while in the last two years following the recent SIP advice. After 1987 with the introduction of AGA assay, the number of diagnosis/year of coeliac disease has increased three times in respect of the period 1976-1986. We have observed a more marked increase of the late beginning forms (from 2.8 to 10 diagnosis/year) in respect of the early beginning ones (from 3.7 to 7.5 diagnosis/year) and of the atypical forms (from 0.7 to 9 diagnosis/year) in respect of the typical ones (from 5.8 to 8.5 diagnosis/year). According to these data we think that prevalence of coeliac disease in our country is probably underestimated. AGA determination is at time most effective mean to make a screening of coeliac disease in the population. According to us the largest employment of this method in the next years could take a most exact estimate of the coeliac disease prevalence in our country.