Vaccine hope for coeliac sufferers

SCIENTISTS believe they may have found a vaccine to treat coeliac disease – giving sufferers the freedom to ditch their gluten-free diets for good.

A world-first clinical trial is under way in Melbourne, Australia, which is using injections to reprogramme the immune system’s abnormal response to gluten.

About one in 100 people have coeliac disease, which can cause diarrhoea, constipation, vomiting, stomach cramps, mouth ulcers, fatigue and anaemia.

The condition occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues as the gluten protein – found in wheat, barley, rye and oats – is eaten.

This causes damage to the lining of the gut and means the body can’t properly absorb nutrients from food.

The only treatment currently available for coeliacs is to stick to a gluten-free diet, which eases most of the debilitating symptoms.

In extreme cases the condition can lead to issues such as infertility, type 1 diabetes, osteoporosis and even small-bowel cancer.

But researchers say they are hopeful the pioneering vaccine will bring an end to these restrictive diets.

Lead researcher and gastroenterologist Dr Jason Tye-Din, from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, told The Herald Sun the vaccine targets gluten-specific cells.

He said it teaches the body how to handle gluten more efficiently so that it doesn’t go into “attack mode” every time someone with coeliac eats a meal.

“If you can give [the vaccine] in successive injections, you can retrain the immune system so it learns to develop a tolerance,” he said.

“This trial is important in establishing clinical proof-of-concept for a treatment that would provide benefit beyond that of the gluten-free diet.

“If the trial is positive, it would suggest that having a normal diet is something people can aim for. That’s the ultimate hope.”

To take the vaccine to the next stage, Dr Tye-Din is recruiting almost 150 patients from across Australia, New Zealand and the United States to trial the injections.

All of the participants will either receive the active injection or a placebo while undergoing three food challenges, which test the vaccine for its symptomatic relief.

Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK, said this trial was “an important step”.

But she warned that further research and clinical trials are needed to ensure there are no sideeffects and that the vaccine is of benefit.

She said: “In total, there have been four phase 1 trials that showed that NexVax 2 is well tolerated. The vaccine will initially be assessed in combination with a gluten-free diet to protect people from accidental gluten exposure.”