Evaluation of gliadin antibodies for detection of coeliac disease.

To evaluate assay of gliadin antibodies of different immunoglobulin classes as a test for detection of coeliac disease, we analysed sera from 36 adult patients and 8 children with coeliac disease, 62 patients with other gastrointestinal diseases, and 124 blood donors with diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DIG-ELISA). Depending on the choice of reference levels for gliadin antibodies of the IgA and IgG classes, respectively, we found a diagnostic sensitivity for coeliac disease of 93-86% and a diagnostic specificity of 95-100%. Determination of gliadin antibodies by DIG-ELISA can thus be used as a test for detection of coeliac disease and selection of patients for small-intestinal biopsy.