By Amy Ratner, Beyond Celiac Medical and Science News Analyst

At the end of the year it’s fun and informative to look back on what’s transpired since we flipped opened a new calendar 12 months ago.

When it comes to celiac disease research, busy is the best way to describe 2017.

We’ve seen potential treatments, both drugs and vaccines, showing promising results and moving forward in or begining clinical trials. While one study did have disappointing results, its researchers got federal funding to pursue what they see as its potential for success.

Another treatment that relies on futuristic-sounding nanoparticles made progress in the clinical trial process with the launch of a search for study participants.

In the past year, experts also investigated ways to reduce the amount of time you have to eat gluten to be tested for celiac disease if you’ve already gone on the gluten-free diet. That’s a common a situation that prevents a lot of people from finding out it they have celiac disease.

Researchers also explored the role of the intestinal biopsy in diagnosing celiac disease in both adults and children.

And scientists with an out-of-the-box approach collected 800 spit samples from visitors to a nearby museum for a study into whether an enzyme from saliva could be used as a treatment for celiac disease. They theorize the enzyme could break up the harmful parts of the gluten protein that triggers intestinal damage.

All these topics and more made it into our list of the top 10 viewed research posts for 2017. Here are the stories people with celiac disease were most interested in reading on our website and talking about on Facebook.

1. A Vaccine to Treat Celiac Disease
   

2. Eating Gluten One Time Might Be Enough of a Challenge to Diagnose Celiac Disease
   

3. Disappointing Results in Celiac Disease Drug Trial But Future Hopeful
   

4. Study of New Treatment for Celiac Disease Using Nanoparticles Begins
   

5. Spitting Image
   

6. Vaccine for Celiac Disease Gets Shot at Funding
   

7. Children May Not Need a Biopsy for Celiac Disease Diagnosis

8. Experts Weigh in on Need for Biopsy to Diagnose Celiac Disease
   

9. Celiac Disease Patients Warned about Dietary Supplements
   

10. A Broad View of Celiac Disease
    

Beyond Celiac also had plenty to report in 2017 on our own research initiatives, including

• An eye-opening study that revealed that more than one in five celiac disease patients diagnosed at least five years ago do not get follow-up healthcare. That study was just published in the journal BMC Gastroenterology after having been preliminarily presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW), the biggest international gathering of gastroenterology specialists.

• A study also presented at DDW that found celiac disease patients continue to worry significantly about the risk of gluten in medications. This is especially timely research as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this month released draft guidance that recommends drug companies voluntarily list any ingredients made from gluten on their labels. In 2018, Beyond Celiac will continue our long history of fighting for better labeling of gluten in drugs via our response to the FDA.
• Research investigating the impact patient education about following the gluten-free diet had on those diagnosed and treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, which was the third Beyond Celiac study presented at DDW. It concluded education significantly increased patients’ ability to follow the diet.
• The Bold Beyond Research Symposium, which brought together celiac disease experts to discuss the state of celiac disease research, including updates on funding, patient participation and when new treatments might be available to patients.

While it’s been a research-packed year, we look forward to even more work in 2018 to accelerate the search for additional treatment options, and eventually, a cure.

One of the most important things you can do to make these a reality is to join Go Beyond Celiac, the online patient community Beyond Celiac launched in 2017. It’s easy to join us in making the individual and collective voices of those with celiac be heard. If we do that, 2018 will be a banner year.