Gluten protection pill developed for celiac disease
A pill may soon be available to allow celiac disease sufferers to enjoy previously forbidden food and drink on an occasional basis. Associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Alberta, Hoon Sunwoo, has developed a pill that can be taken before eating gluten containing food or drink. The pill uses egg yolk to bind with the gluten and allow it to pass through the body without causing damage to the villi in the gut.
Although the pill's protective effects are short-term it would allow a celiac disease sufferer to have something like pizza, or beer, without the painful consequences. And would be a useful safeguard against eating out with cross-contamination issues.
The pill has completed safety clinical trials and should begin efficacy trials in 2016; if successful the pill may be available to celiac disease sufferers in Canada within three years.
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