Experimental drug shows promise against celiac disease

[PeteS in CA]

Experimental drug shows promise against celiac disease

https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/07/02/celiac-disease-experimental-drug-shows-promise/8701625192189/

An experimental drug can prevent intestinal damage caused by celiac disease, an early trial has found -- raising hopes that it could become the first medication for the serious digestive disorder.

With celiac disease, the immune system attacks the lining of the small intestine when a genetically susceptible person eats gluten -- a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

The symptoms of celiac include diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss. Underlying it all is an aberrant immune system attack that damages hair-like structures in the intestinal lining called villi.
...
The new study, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at whether an experimental drug can prevent that intestinal damage.
...
The trial, which was funded by drugmaker Dr. Falk Pharma, enrolled 163 adults with celiac disease who'd been successful with a gluten-free diet for at least a year.

The researchers randomly assigned the patients to one of four groups: three were given various doses of ZED1227 to take every morning for six weeks; the fourth took placebo pills.

Thirty minutes after each morning dose, the study patients ate a biscuit containing a moderate amount of gluten, as a way to test the drug's ability to block gluten-induced inflammation.

After six weeks, the trial found, patients on any dose of the drug showed fewer signs of intestinal damage, versus the placebo group. ...

Apparently, a significant % of people with Celiac who avoid all gluten still have problems. So this would be a significant advance in treatment of the disease.

The numbers of people tested plus the experimentation with dosages suggest to me that this was a Phase 1 test (of 3 pre-approval test phases). That the test results were published in the NEJM suggests to me that Phase 2 testing is probably underway. All in all, it sounds very promising, but is probably years away from approval, not months.

[mountaineer]

Thanks for this. I'll share it with my niece, who is greatly affected by celiac disease.

[PeteS in CA]

Thanks for this. I'll share it with my niece, who is greatly affected by celiac disease.

I've a friend in the Bay Area running community who has Celiac. Apparently she's able to control it by keeping gluten-free, but her need for constant vigilance has to be wearing. I suspect a large percentage of Americans know at least one someone with Celiac Disease.