celiac disease

noun

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of celiac disease

: a chronic hereditary intestinal disorder in which an inability to absorb the gliadin portion of gluten results in the gliadin triggering an immune response that damages the intestinal mucosa — called also celiac sprue

Recent Examples of celiac disease from the Web

Women are three to nine times more likely than men to suffer from autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS), Grave’s disease, celiac disease, systemic lupus erythematous, and rheumatoid arthritis.

— diana gitig, Ars Technica, "Testosterone may protect men from autoimmune diseases," 2 Feb. 2018
Those include Crohn's disease, celiac disease, Graves' disease, and lupus.

— korin miller, Allure, "What You Should Know Before Taking Vitamin B12 Supplements," 31 Mar. 2018
For those who have to cut gluten because of celiac disease, that starts with finding a diagnosis, which can be easier said than done.

— anne nickoloff, cleveland.com, "Acclaimed violinist Lindsey Stirling to perform at Jacobs Pavilion in August," 6 Mar. 2018
And even for those 40 percent that have symptoms to help steer a diagnosis, only 20-30 percent will develop stomach symptoms, the most commonly associated with celiac disease.

— anne nickoloff, cleveland.com, "Acclaimed violinist Lindsey Stirling to perform at Jacobs Pavilion in August," 6 Mar. 2018
Complicating matters was the fact Lamb has celiac disease – an immune reaction to eating gluten – and accidentally ate chocolate with wheat in it Saturday night.

— gary d'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mass start races deliver excitement on final day of U.S. Olympic speedskating trials," 7 Jan. 2018
Unfortunately, for individuals with celiac disease, this system mistakes the human digestive system for a disease and attacks the lining of the gut.

— brian handwerk, Smithsonian, "How Cheese, Wheat and Alcohol Shaped Human Evolution," 7 May 2016
Frazier suffers from celiac disease, when the body mounts a violent immune reaction to gluten.

— lynne terry, OregonLive.com, "Low vaccination rates put some Oregon schools at high risk for measles," 11 Feb. 2018
This lack of awareness breeds a social stigma that makes people with celiac disease wary of being misunderstood or ridiculed.

— carolyn l. todd, SELF, "Party City Pulls Controversial Ad Calling Gluten-Free People 'Gross'," 25 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'celiac disease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.