In an earlier post I discussed research indicating that multiple infant infections increase the risk of celiac disease. In short, the more infections an infant has, the greater its risk for developing celiac disease.

At the time I suggested this may be a result of the antibiotics administered to treat the infections, because antibiotics change the population profile of microbes in our intestinal tract. I described how in my teens I developed irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) after a prolonged prescription of the antibiotic tetracycline. I may have developed celiac disease; I don’t know because I wasn’t diagnosed with celiac disease until more than ten years later.

I also know that the most effective treatment for IBS I’ve known for myself and for people close to me has been fiber and probiotics, especially the probiotics lactobacillus reuteri and bifidobacterium infantis.

Many of the most experienced and well-respected celiac researchers believe there is some relationship between the population of bacteria in the intestinal tract and the manifestation of autoimmune diseases, including celiac disease.

New Research Reveals Association Between Antibiotics and Celiac Disease

In July of 2013 a study published in the medical journal BMC Gastroenterology provided further fuel to my conjecture. The study is called Antibiotic Exposure and the Development of Coeliac Disease. Medical professionals can view the study here if they are logged in:

Antibiotic Exposure and the Development of Coeliac Disease

The relevant comments from the researchers:

This is the first study to find a positive association between antibiotic use and subsequent CD. The consistent association between the multiple groups, the slightly stronger association between repeated use of antibiotics compared with no use as well as the association with use of certain antibiotics (eg, metronidazole) and CD may suggest that antibiotic exposure, possibly through a changed gut microbiota, plays a pathogenetic role in early CD development.”

As I stated in my post on infant infections, I wonder if we will eventually help treat a number of autoimmune diseases with specific, potent probiotics developed to replenish a healthy microbiome

In particular, I’m interested in long-term studies related to the probiotics lactobacillus reuteri, a bacteria present in human breast milk, and the bifidobacterium infantis, a bacteria that decreases in our gut as we age. You can examine these probiotics yourself in my shop.