Breakthrough vaccine could put an end to coeliac disease

For those struggling with coeliac disease, eating is a daily battle.

But a breakthrough vaccine, which is currently being trialled in Perth, claims it could help people with coeliac disease to eat gluten without getting ill.

The research, conducted by Linear, is reportedly so advanced that the vaccine could be on the market in two years and it could even be used to help sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

A breakthrough vaccine, which is currently being trialled in Perth, claims it could help people with coeliac disease to eat gluten without getting ill (stock image)

Speaking to 9 News Perth , Dr Michael Winlo (pictured), from Linear Clinical Research, explained it will take the form of a light injection

Speaking to 9 News Perth, Dr Michael Winlo, from Linear Clinical Research, explained:

‘It’s just a light injection, similar to how a diabetic might inject insulin nowadays.

‘The promise of being able to lead a normal life without having to be so strict with one’s diet is actually really exciting and liberating for people.’

He added: ‘This type of science could be used for diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis [sufferers], too.’

‘The promise of being able to lead a normal life without having to be so strict with one’s diet is actually really exciting and liberating for people,’ Dr Winlo said (stock image)

What is coeliac disease?

* People with coeliac disease struggle with an immune system that responds abnormally to gluten. This causes small bowel damage.

* The tiny, finger-like projections which line the bowel become inflamed and flattened.

* Coeliac disease affects people of all ages, both male and female.

* You must be born with the genetic predisposition to develop coeliac disease. The most important genes associated with susceptibility to coeliac disease are HLA DQ2 and HLA DQ8.

* Coeliac disease affects on average approximately 1 in 70 Australians. However, around 80 per cent of this number remain undiagnosed.

* People with coeliac disease remain sensitive to gluten throughout their life, so in this sense they are never cured. However, a strict gluten free diet does allow the condition to be managed effectively.

* The long term consequences of untreated coeliac disease are related to chronic systemic inflammation, poor nutrition and malabsorption of nutrients.

Source: Coeliac Australia

The vaccine (picutred) is a combination of proteins that work by attaching to the immune system cells in coeliacs which overreact when they come into contact with gluten

So how will the new vaccine work?

According to the experts, it’s a combination of proteins that work by attaching to the immune system cells in coeliacs which overreact when they come into contact with gluten:

‘It quietens them down. Over time, we think it can shut them off and allow people to live a normal life,’ Dr Winlo revealed.

While the injection will not need to be taken everyday, he clarified that it won’t be ‘once a lifetime either’.

It could be set to revolutionise the lives of those with coeliac disease, such as Elsie Latham, 8, who featured on the broadcast and spoke about how even the tiniest amount of gluten can leave her violently ill.

Doctors at Linear are currently looking for Australians who have confirmed coeliac disease to participate in their trial (stock image)

Doctors at Linear are currently looking for Australians who have confirmed coeliac disease to participate in their trial.

In order to qualify, they state that you have to have not eaten gluten for at least the past twelve months, while they added that side effects are minimal.

So far, there has been much interest in the research, which could prove fresh hope for those who are coeliac.

To find out more about the trials, please click here.

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