[Anti-endomysium and anti-reticulin antibodies in adults with celiac disease followed-up in the Paris area].

OBJECTIVES

Circulating IgA class anti-endomysium and anti-reticulin antibodies are reliable serological markers for the diagnosis of coeliac disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate their diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, and their prevalence in a group of coeliac adults taking a gluten-free diet followed in Ile-de-France.

METHODS

One hundred and forty-five sera from 134 patients were examined for IgA and IgG anti-endomysium and anti-reticulin antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence. Sixty-eight patients were confirmed coeliacs; 8 patients with noncoeliac (unresponsive to a gluten-free diet) duodenal villous atrophy and 58 patients with no villous atrophy served as controls.

RESULTS

In active coeliac disease, the sensitivity of anti-endomysium and anti-reticulin antibodies was 88% and 50%, respectively. Their specificity was 100%: they were never detected in case of noncoeliac villous atrophy. Under a strict gluten-free diet, their prevalence was 7% and 0%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

In the studied population, the diagnosis accuracy of IgA anti-endomysium antibodies confirms their usefulness in screening and follow-up of coeliac disease. The absence of anti-endomysium and anti-reticulin antibodies in those cases with noncoeliac villous atrophy suggests that in the latter, different immunopathologic mechanisms, as compared with coeliac disease, are concerned.