TOPIC: Celiac Disease

Most of us think nothing about eating foods with wheat and other grains containing gluten, but for roughly three million American children and adults, gluten acts like a poison, damaging their intestines. The condition is known as Celiac Disease and if left untreated it can lead to anemia, osteoporosis and cancer. To make matters worse the disease is often misdiagnosed. On the next Health Link we'll examine the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease.

GUESTS:

Dr. Peter H. R. Green, MD
Dr. Green is the Director of The Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. He is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University and Attending Physician at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Celiac disease has been Dr Green's focus over the last 10 years with equal concentration on patient care and research. He is one of the few physicians in the United States with an intense clinical and academic interest and expertise in celiac disease. As a result of the need for a coordinated approach for the medical care of patients with celiac disease Dr Green established the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University.

Karen Anderson, LCSW, RD, CDN
Ms. Anderson is dually-disciplined as Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Registered Dietitian. She specializes in Medical Nutrition Therapy for patients diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a condition that she knows all to well. She herself was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 1995.

Catherine Marschilok, RN
Ms. Marschilok is a certified Diabetes Educator with Northeast Health. Type 1 diabetics are at an increased risk for Celiac Disease. The condition hits home for Catherine as three of her children and her husband have Celiac Disease.

Honorable Jane Swift
Ms. Swift was diagnosed with Celiac Disease toward the end of her first term. Her symptoms included heartburn, and other intestinal problems. She was ill for about a year before seeking a physicians advise and had attributed everything to stress. She had underwent many medical tests including an intestinal biopsy. She was proven positive for Celiac Disease and began a gluten free diet. Looking back she realizes the signs were there all along, including having relatives with gastrointestinal disorders and she herself had "stomach problems" as a child. Ms. Swift is a General Partner for Arcadia Partners, a leading venture capital firm focused exclusively on the for-profit education and training industry. Ms. Swift is also currently a director of both Teachscape in New York, New York, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Barbara Jordan, Founder, The Celiac Disease Resource
Since Barbara's diagnoses of Celiac Disease in 1994, she has been committed to raising awareness to this under-diagnosed disease. For 25 years she was misdiagnosed and went from doctor to doctor looking for an answer as to what was causing her stomach problems, low weight and anemia. Ms. Jordan is the Executive Assistant to the Chief Medical Officer at St. Peter's Hospital.

Kathy Mannix, President, The Celiac Disease Resource
One day out of the blue Kathy Mannix developed an extremely itchy rash on her elbows. She went to see her primary care physician who gave her a cortisone cream that didn't relieve the rash. He referred her to a dermatologist who diagnosed her with Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH), the skin manifestation of celiac disease. That was 7 years ago. She has never experienced gastrointestinal problems. Two of her five children have tested high positive to the blood test.