Coeliac treatment: Miracle drug changing lives for Australians living with chronic inflammatory condition

For 1 in 70 Australians living with coeliac disease, recent clinical trial developments present a new hope for a cure to the chronic autoimmune disease.

Coeliac disease occurs when the presence of gluten triggers a person’s immune-system to attack itself, resulting in inflammatory responses and painful symptoms.

Gluten is a protein found in all types of wheat and is often unavoidable through cross-contamination with other common field-farmed crops and kitchen ingredients.

While approximately 1 in 70 Australians are believed to have the condition, only 20 per cent of total sufferers are said to be diagnosed, according to data from Coeliac Australia.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Coeliac Research Lab is calling for a range of patients to participate in the world-leading trial.

Principal researcher Professor Jason Tye-Din told Nine News that the drug would work directly to stop the body’s inflammatory response to the common household ingredient.

“The actual drug itself will target the immune system, switching off that triggering process that leads to inflammation,” Professor Tye-Din said.

The trial process includes a shortened “gluten challenge”, which is the process of consuming gluten across a set time-frame to measure the body’s reaction.

Then, participants will be sorted into groups and receive doses of the phase two drug via an injection to the stomach.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research is calling for volunteers from Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria aged between 18 and 75-years-old who, despite following a gluten free diet, still experience inflammatory symptoms from gluten cross-contamination and other accidental consumption.