Cristina Gómez-Casado

Even if they have not been diagnosed with coeliac disease or wheat allergy, one in 10 people say they experience symptoms – gastrointestinal, fatigue or headache – after eating wheat or other foods containing gluten, according to a meta-analysis published in the journal Gut. This sensitivity is strongly associated with being female, psychological distress and irritable bowel syndrome, according to the study.

In mice, a therapy based on editing regulatory T-cells can suppress an immune reaction against gluten, according to a study in Science Translational Medicine. Studies in animals with coeliac disease would be needed to assess the efficacy of this cell therapy in restoring gluten tolerance, the authors say.