History of Celiac Disease

2nd Century AD

Aretaeus of Cappodocia, a Greek physician, describes a malabsorptive diarrhea affecting children.

1888

Samuel Gee, an English pediatrician, describes children who suffer from chronic indigestion and wasting and reports that the cure for this condition would be through diet.

1924

Sidney Haas, an American pediatrician, determines that carbohydrates are the culprit food in celiac disease and treats 10 children with a "banana diet."

1930s

William Dicke, a Dutch pediatrician, notes that during World War II children with celiac disease improve when they lack access to wheat, further strengthening the relationship between wheat ingestion and celiac disease.

1950s

Margot Shiner, a pediatric gastroenterologist, develops a biopsy technique to examine the small intestine and observe the pathologic changes in celiac disease.

1964

The anti-gliadin antibody was discovered.

1980s

Celiac disease associated with other autoimmune diseases

• Thyroid
• Diabetes
• Down's syndrome

1990s

The genetic markers HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 are identified and the anti-transglutaminase antibodies are identified.