Grant Awarded for Celiac Disease Research

Many American suffer from celiac disease, a disorder that is triggered by eating gluten. Celiac disease prevents the intestine from absorbing nutrients and causes symptoms from cramping to malnutrition. The only known treatment is a gluten-free diet, which is very difficult for most people, since the majority of foods contain some amount of gluten. In response to this growing health concern, the National Institutes of Health has awarded Diter von Wettstein of Washington State University an $837,000 grant to investigate celiac-safe wheat. The proposed new strain of the grain would be rich in lysine, an essential amino acid, and would lack gliadins, which ultimately are the root of the problem in celiac disease. Western Farmer-Stockman, June 24, 2008 
2008-07-03 20:30:26