Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(8), 855; doi:10.3390/ijerph14080855
Unusual Onset of Celiac Disease and Addison’s Disease in a 12-Year-Old Boy
1
Paediatric Clinic, Azienda Ospedaliera di Terni, 05100 Terni, Italy
2
Pediatric Highly Intensive Care Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20122 Milan, Italy
3
Paediatric Clinic, Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 4 July 2017 / Revised: 26 July 2017 / Accepted: 28 July 2017 / Published: 29 July 2017
(This article belongs to the Section Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion)
Abstract
Background: Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder deriving from an aberrant adaptive immune response against gluten-containing grains in genetically predisposed subjects. In a number of patients, CD is associated with one or more other autoimmune diseases. Primary Addison’s disease (AD) and CD may co-exist, although this association is relatively uncommon in children. In addition, it is not precisely defined whether a gluten-free diet influences the course of AD. Case presentation: A case of CD in a 12-year-old boy presenting as acute adrenal insufficiency is described here. A gluten-free diet had a significant therapeutic role in this case, wherein most of the clinical signs and symptoms of AD disappeared in a few days. In addition, the dosage of cortisol acetate, initially administered to treat the AD, was able to be rapidly reduced. Conclusion: This case highlights that CD can be associated with AD in children, and a gluten-free diet seems to positively influence the course of AD. View Full-Text
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
Share & Cite This Article
MDPI and ACS Style
Miconi, F.; Savarese, E.; Miconi, G.; Cabiati, G.; Rapaccini, V.; Principi, N.; Esposito, S. Unusual Onset of Celiac Disease and Addison’s Disease in a 12-Year-Old Boy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 855.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
Related Articles
Article Metrics
Comments
[Return to top]
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
EISSN 1660-4601
Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland
RSS
E-Mail Table of Contents Alert