The celiac disease is an autoimmune disease whereby the immune system of some people coma recognizes a substance enemy the gluten , which is the main protein found in wheat . This intolerance can lead to a reaction also called autoimmune which involves damage to the walls of the intestine inside the human body.
In the past, the disease had only one solution, namely that of not eating foods that contained gluten. Today, however, it is possible to fight celiac disease through a biodegradable nanoparticle.
The experimentation Phase II clinic that led to its creation was carried out at Northswestern Medicine , which was later made known at the European Gastroenterology Week conference held in Barcelona.
The nanodevice created allows the patient, affected by celiac disease, to recognize the gluten as harmless so as to avoid autoimmune reactions and inflammations.
This tiny particle, which contains within it the protein complex found in wheat, injected into the blood allows it to be captured by the immune cells, called macrophages, which warn the other similar ones of the harmlessness of the gluten itself, so as to prevent reactions.
To prove its effectiveness, an experiment was carried out in which the substance was injected in some patients, who were able to eat gluten for two weeks without having any health problems.
In addition to this result, the treatment allowed
to eliminate any inflammatory reactions that occurred in the intestinal walls when the celiac patients ate gluten.
The biodegradable nanodevice has already been placed under the control of the US FDA , Food and Drug Administration, and will also be tested for other autoimmune diseases or food allergies such as peanut allergies.
