Gut: Serum zonulin and its diagnostic role in non-intestinal gluten sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is characterized by intestinal and extraintestinal symptoms after a patient has ingested gluten-containing foods without celiac disease (CD) and wheat allergies.
has not yet been used to diagnose biomarkers for NCGS, so this study aims to explore the role of serum zonulin as a biomarker for NCGS diagnostics.
: This is a multi-center study in which researchers recruited 86 self-reported or double-blindly diagnosed NCGS patients, 59 diarrhea-based IBS-D patients, 15 CD patients and 25 asymptomatic control (AC).
researchers assessed the relationship between Zonulin serum levels and non-celiac gluten sensitivity in these patients and calculated their associated diagnostic capabilities.
also assessed the effects of diet on zonulin levels in a group of NCGS patients.
results: NCGS levels increased significantly in CD patients regardless of the diagnostic method compared to ACs, both NCGS and CD patients compared to IBS-D participants.
self-reported NCGS patients showed higher levels of Zonulin protein than double-blind confirmed and unrefirmed NCGS.
researchers also found that avoiding six months of wheat consumption significantly lowered zonulin levels in patients with HLA-DQ2/8-positive NCGS.
zonulin level was 81% diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing between NCGS and IBS-D.
: This study concludes that the zonulin protein is a diagnostic biomarker of NCGS, which, in combination with demographic and clinical data, can be highly accurately separated from IBS-D.
.