Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
http://glutendoctors.blogspot.com/2010/ ... -risk.html
Here is the original journal article cited in the blog post. THIS IS THE MOST INFORMATIVE ARTICLE I HAVE READ SINCE MY JOURNEY BEGAN. (Read at least the first 3 pages)
http://www.ima.org.il/imaj/ar08jan-3.pdf
Excerpts:
“When self-tolerance is disturbed as a result of inflammatory processes, exposure to chemicals, molecular mimicry with pathogens, vaccination, receptor editing, radiation and genetic background, what follows is dysregulation of the immune system, resulting in the emergence of an autoimmune disease. Elevated autoantibody titers will be detected, followed by autoantibody spread”
“Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies as markers for Crohn’s disease were detected in the sera of apparently healthy subjects on average 3 years before the disease became overt [5]. Their diagnostic sensitivity was 31% but the specificity and the predictive value were both 100%.
The predictive value of anti-tissue transglutaminase and anti-endomysial antibodies for celiac disease onset is 50–60%. If the patient carries the HLA-DQ2 or DQ8 antigens, known to be genetic markers for susceptibility to celiac disease, the PPV of the autoantibodies approaches 100%.”
Some of you may recall I was positive for ANA, Rheumatoid Factor, and Anti-Smooth Muscle/Anti-Actin Antibodies 5 years ago and the titers have increased somewhat since then. Doctors discovered the antibodies while trying to diagnose an itchy post-partum rash (probably Dermatitis Herpetiformis in hindsight). They offered me DMARDS, told me I might have RA or Lupus, told me Autoimmune Hepatitis might develop someday, but also said many HEALTHY people walk around with circulating autoantibodies. I've always thought, they might be healthy in that moment, but something is surely brewing. And I'm right. Well, my rash eventually resolved and I didn't worry about much until MC arrived. Had I done something then, I might not have developed MC last year. Had I not started the GF diet, I would surely have celiac hepatitis in less than 10 years. My doctors continue to test my liver enzymes and other chemistries in an effot to "catch" disease when it appears, but I'm saying that's not good enough. I want to PREVENT it. I've been told NO vaccines or immune stimulating herbs, and I agree.
I've also read a number of studies that use Anti-Actin/Smooth Muscle antibodies as a marker of celiac damage. Even in the absence of the traditional celiac antibodies when a person starts a GF diet, Anti-Actin is still present when there continues to be intestinal damage. It is this precise antibody that attacks the microfilaments of the intestinal villi. I've had high levels of this antibody for 5 years, and it has not gone down, even after 2 months on the GF diet. My doctors follow it to track my risk of autoimmune hepatitis - now I know it's related to my intestines too. If you have enough of it circulating in your body for enough time, it will eventually attack your liver too. DUH!!
Now I wonder, could Anti-Actin be present in MC without celiac-related small intestine damage? Could it relate to the damage we experience in the large intestine?? 
Has anyone here ever been tested for Anti-Actin or Anti-Smooth Muscle Antibodies?Read these abstracts and article:
1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1612 ... &linkpos=2
2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17652043
3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/ppmc/ ... MC1809109/
I am more convinced than ever that I do have celiac disease, and I probably caught it before I developed significant malabsorption.
I am also convinced that everyone with MC should have bloodwork to test for a variety of autoantibodies, so they can know where their disease is likely to progress - and perhaps prevent it.
