Coeliac disease vaccine

A vaccine to cure coeliac disease. There is good news for the coeliac people in the world. An international team of scientists in Australia is beginning to test a vaccine with the hope to end the need for coeliacs to adhere to gluten-free diets.

The Vaccine to cure the coeliac disease

The vaccine, named Nexvax2, works similarly to desensitisation therapies for allergies. Researchers are unable to predict when the vaccine may be available.

At the moment 160,000 Australians have been diagnosed with coeliac disease. This research is trying to solve the problem of having to adhere to a strict lifelong gluten-free diet and is important for all people suffering because of gluten. In Italy and Spain, for example, the number of the celiacs is very high due the mediterranean diet. In fact, many products contain gluten because it is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Pasta and bread are two of the foods eaten most.

Diarrhoea, constipation, nausea and vomiting are some of the gastrointestinal symptoms for who are affected by the gluten contamination.

The trials

Australian trials will start at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Clinical Trials Centre in Melbourne. Before it is rolled out to Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Mackay and the Sunshine Coast.

There are different steps in this program. In phase one of the trial, the vaccine did not cause gastrointestinal damage. It is delivered in a series of injections and the final doses contained the equivalent gluten to two full loaves of bread.

Naturally, this is a trial and the results will be very important to understand if the vaccine will work. The final scope will be to allow the immune system’s abnormal toxic response to gluten to be reprogrammed.