Immunological abnormalities in coeliac disease and their response to dietary restriction. I. Serum immunoglobulins, antibodies and complement.

Twenty-three patients with coeliac disease were studied whilst on a normal diet and again after a mean period of 15 months on a gluten-free diet. Serum levels of IgG, IgA and IgM, total haemolytic complement, C3, serum autoantibodies and precipitins to dietary proteins were compared to those in age and sex matched control subjects. There was considerable individual variation, but as a group, patients on a normal diet had significantly raised IgA and low IgM and an increased prevalence of antibody to reticulin, smooth muscle and dietary protein. These abnormalities disappeared during the period of dietary restriction suggesting that they are disease epiphenomena rather than primary pathogenetic factors.