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Etymology
The term celiac comes from Greek κοιλιακός (koiliakós) meaning "abdominal." Introduced in English in the 19th century via a translation of Aretaeus of Cappadocia's ancient Greek description.
Celiac disease likely did not occur before the Neolithic period (~9500 BCE) when humans first began cultivating grains in the Fertile Crescent (Western Asia).
Timeline
Ancient / Medieval
- 2nd century CE — Aretaeus of Cappadocia (living in Western Asia) described a malabsorptive syndrome with chronic diarrhea and bodily debilitation. He attributed the cause to lack of stomach heat and regarded it as a condition of the old, more common in women.
- 15th century — A medical prescription from Mamluk Cairo (attributed to Shams al-Din ibn al-'Afif, physician to Sultan Barsbay) describes treatment for wheat-intolerant patients using herbs and plant waters.
Post-1800s
- 1856 — Francis Adams presents a translation of Aretaeus's "Cœliac Affection" to the Sydenham Society, bringing it to Western medical attention.
- 1887 — Samuel Gee (pediatrician, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London) gives the first modern clinical description in children. He recognized milk intolerance and starches were problematic, but also forbade rice and vegetables (which would have been safe). He reported brief success with a diet of Dutch mussels.
- 1908 — Christian Archibald Herter (US physician) publishes a book on celiac children, calling it "intestinal infantilism." Notes fat was better tolerated than carbohydrate. The term Gee-Herter disease was used for both contributions.
- 1924 — Sidney V. Haas (US pediatrician) reports positive effects of a banana diet. This diet persisted until the true cause was identified.
1940s–1960s: Discovery of the Gluten Link
- 1940s — Willem Karel Dicke (Dutch pediatrician) observes dramatic improvement in his patients during the Dutch Famine of 1944–45 when wheat flour was scarce. Mortality in celiac children dropped from >35% to near zero. When wheat was reintroduced post-war, mortality returned to previous levels.
- 1952 — Team from Birmingham, England identifies gluten (the specific protein component of wheat) as the causative agent.
- 1954 — John W. Paulley (British physician) describes villous atrophy on biopsy samples taken during surgery — first pathological description.
- 1956 — Endoscopic biopsy techniques encouraged, leading to better sampling.
- 1960s — Hereditary character of celiac disease recognized (1965). In 1966, dermatitis herpetiformis linked to gluten sensitivity.
Society
- May has been designated "Celiac Awareness Month" by several celiac organizations.