title: Frequency and prognostic value of IgA and IgG endomysial antibodies in recurrent aphthous stomatitis.
abstract: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is a common disease of the oral mucous membranes. Currently a hypothesis is being discussed that it might be pathogenetically related to coeliac disease. We evaluated the frequency of coeliac disease anti-endomysial (or anti-transglutaminase) antibodies in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Blood samples from 42 patients were evaluated and 2/42 (4.7%) were IgA- and IgG-endomysial antibody-positive. None of the 42 persons in the control group had antibodies, which was not statistically different from the patient group. The two antibody-positive patients had episodes of mild gastrointestinal symptoms only, but histopathology of duodenal mucous membranes confirmed coeliac disease. All symptoms related to aphthous stomatitis responded well to a gluten-free diet. We conclude that every patient with recurrent aphthous stomatitis should be asked about a history of gastrointestinal complaints and screened for markers of coeliac disease, since recurrent aphthous stomatitis may in some cases respond to a gluten-free diet.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Medical Center for Postgraduate Education, Institute of Oncology, Warsaw Medical School, Poland. malgorzataolszewska@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olszewska
authors.forename: Jadwiga
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sulej
authors.forename: Bronisław
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kotowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000276:immunology*; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011503:Transglutaminases