An examination of adult-type hypolactasia, the most common form of genetically-determined food intolerance. The contributors discuss the cellular and molecular basis of this hereditary condition. The text also describes the nutritional problems associated with adult lactase activity.
This volume reports the results of the largest study ever conducted on the epidemiology of coeliac disease (CD) involving 38 centres from 15 European countries. Significant variations in the incidence figures are thoroughly analyzed to provide further insight into the role played by genetic and environmental factors in CD. Much is still to be learned about the natural history of gluten sensitivity and the very definition of CD is now being questioned. A new nomenclature has been proposed and this book is the first to discuss in detail the concepts of silent, latent and potential CD which may have profound implications in terms of preventive and therapeutic strategies. Good non-invasive, inexpensive screening methods to diagnose silent CD are described as well as possible specific immunological markers for latent CD.