Celiac and Autoimmune Hepatitis

[Sophieeckert]

Has anyone with celiac that is well controlled on gluten-free diet have autoimmune hepatitis? I have been gluten-free for 11yrs and just this year tested positive for ANA and anti-smooth muscle antinbody. They want me to do a liver biopsy, but I have normal liver enzymes. The only odd thing is that I have right flank pain for the last year and an "elongated liver". Anyone experience anything similar?

[cyclinglady]

No hepatitis here, but I can say that my thyroid antibodies were very high, yet the rest of my thyroid tests were normal.  It took a few years before everything went wonky.  Perhaps this can occur with autoimmune Hepatitis.  Ask your doctor.

I also was diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis (biopsy-confirmed) five years after my celiac disease diagnosis. During that same endoscopy, my small intestine showed complete healing.  Even though m6 celiac disease was in remission, I still developed AIG.  
 

[Scott Adams]

This book review indicates that "16% of those with autoimmune hepatitis are gluten sensitive"

 You might find these articles of interest:

 

 

 

[knitty kitty]

Sophie,

I noticed you didn't mention your doctors testing for Vitamin D deficiency.  I think this would be an important test to have done.

There's several Naional Institute of Health studies done that show a connection between Vitamin D deficiency and ANA antibodies....

"Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased autoimmune response in healthy individuals and in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3149865/

And...

"Association between vitamin D deficiency and antinuclear antibodies in middle age and older U.S. adults"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5135624/

And Vitamin D deficiency and hepatitis.....

"The Role of Vitamin D in Autoimmune Hepatitis"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3808258/

And...

"Severe vitamin D deficiency is a prognostic biomarker in autoimmune hepatitis"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30484857/

And you may want to ask your doctors to check your thiamine level.  Thiamine is Vitamin B1.  One symptom of Thiamine deficiency is hepatomegaly (enlarged liver)....

"Thiamine deficiency disorders: diagnosis, prevalence, and a roadmap for global control programs"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6392124/

Even on a well controlled gluten free diet, people can still have malabsorption or dietary deficiencies that manifest in different ways...

Hope this helps! 

8 hours ago, Sophieeckert said:

Has anyone with celiac that is well controlled on gluten-free diet have autoimmune hepatitis? I have been gluten-free for 11yrs and just this year tested positive for ANA and anti-smooth muscle antinbody. They want me to do a liver biopsy, but I have normal liver enzymes. The only odd thing is that I have right flank pain for the last year and an "elongated liver". Anyone experience anything similar?