ciTechCare in the 19th International Celiac Disease Symposium (ICDS) 2022, in Sorrento, Italy

Between 19 and 22 October, Sorrento, was the chosen city to host the International Celiac Disease Symposium 2022, the largest and biennial forum where scientists, clinicians, health allied professionals, patients’ associations and, industry working on Celiac Disease, meet to exchange knowledge and experience and to foster cooperation. 

Celiac disease (CD) is a complex and particular autoimmune condition triggered by the ingestion of gluten, which makes it the target of several research projects, since there are still no approved therapeutic treatment available, although a life-long, strict gluten-free die have been widely considered.

As ciTechCare has been developing research on this specific area, Vanessa Domingues, PhD fellow, had the opportunity to attend the event to present the poster entitled “Celiac Disease and Covid-19 prevalence and management: a Portuguese portrait”.

This study was also undertaken by Ana Isabel Roque, ciTechCare PhD fellow, and Sónia Gonçalves Pereira, ciTechCare PhD and the Principal Investigator. 

The main goal of this study, which involved 109 CD participants, was to estimate COVID-19 prevalence in celiac disease patients living in Portugal and assess their perception on the use of gluten contamination preventive measures to prevent or manage against.

Authors found that SARS-CoV-2 might behave differently in the Celiac Disease population, considering the higher rate of diarrhea compared to the general population. Also, they found that gluten cross-contamination preventive measures knowledge was considered helpful in infection prevention and management of SARS-CoV-2.