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5 Things to Know About the November 18 Beyond Celiac Mini-Conference

November 4, 2021

Beyond Celiac is shining a spotlight on those who have been “left behind” in the celiac disease world due to missed diagnosis or challenges to diagnosis by hosting Celiac Disease, Hidden in Plain Sight: a Beyond Celiac Mini-Conference via Zoom on Nov. 18 from noon to 3:30 p.m. ET. This educational conference is offered at no charge and is open to the public.

The conference is presented by Beyond Celiac as part of our mission to advance research for treatments toward a cure for celiac disease, a serious genetic autoimmune disease that affects one in 133 Americans. Discussions will focus on the missed diagnosis of celiac disease due to neurological manifestations and patient demographics, as well as the future of diagnosis methods.

Here are the top 5 things to know about this conference:

  1.     The agenda includes three in-depth sessions featuring expert panelists and celiac disease patient representatives, with a Q&A for each. Questions may be submitted in advance by visiting www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-conference-2021 and registering to attend.
  1.     It’s All in Your Head: Missed Diagnosis due to Neurological Symptoms of Celiac Disease features patient representative Gabrielle Zimmerman and researchers Nigel Hoggard, MD, and Iain Croall, PhD. Hoggard and Croall, from the University of Sheffield, UK, are the recipients of a two-year Established Investigator Grant Award from Beyond Celiac. Hoggard and Croall have found evidence that people with celiac disease have a greater risk of damage to brain white matter, as well as worsened cognitive and mental health. Their newest research examines how effectively the gluten-free diet treats these neurological problems and will further investigate long-term effects of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity on cognitive function, severity of depression and anxiety symptoms, and overall quality of life. 
  1.     Pooja Mehta, MD, Children’s Hospital Colorado, headlines the panel for You Don’t Look like You Have Celiac Disease: Missed Diagnosis of Celiac Disease Due to Demographics, with patient representative Jocelyn Langevine. Recently published research reveals that black people and those with Medicaid and Medicare who went to the doctor with iron deficiency anemia and chronic diarrhea had about 90 percent decreased odds of having the appropriate follow-up for possible celiac disease diagnosis. Mehta is a part of the advisory council for the Beyond Celiac Health Disparities and Diversity Project with the National Minority Quality Forum and will discuss missed diagnoses based on geography, age, race and economic status. Indications from the project suggest that celiac disease diagnoses are frequently missed in large parts of the country, and within key racial and economic groups. 
  1.     You Want Me to Do What? Current and Future of Celiac Disease Diagnosis Methods features Hilary Jericho, MD, Celiac Disease Center, University of Chicago Medicine and Isabel Huejol, MD, University of Washington Medicine, and patient representative Maria Luci. Jericho and Huejol will discuss developments that could contribute to increasing the rate of diagnosis in celiac disease. Jericho, who founded the video capsule endoscopy program at University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital, will discuss this as a novel concept in the diagnosis of celiac disease.  Huejol will answer the question of whether you can trust a negative result of blood tests for celiac disease, based a recent study she published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.
  1.     Beyond Celiac is known for bringing together clinician-scientists, drug developers, patients, advocacy leaders and others who are crucial to accomplishing the goal of developing new celiac disease treatments. The upcoming Mini-Conference will give participants access to the experts, a chance to get their questions answered and the opportunity to learn more about the diagnosis of celiac disease.  

“The serious nature of celiac disease is underappreciated and poorly understood by many, and too many people remain undiagnosed,” said Beyond Celiac CEO Alice Bast. “By bringing medical experts and patients together to discuss solutions to misdiagnosis, Beyond Celiac is uncovering important issues about the disease’s non-GI symptoms and addressing health disparities in diagnosis and treatment.”

The conference is free and open to the public. To register, submit questions in advance and receive the Zoom link, visit www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-conference-2021.

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