type 1 diabetes + celiac disease = bff

From ScienceDaily: Type 1 Diabetes And Celiac Disease Linked

"Richard A. Insel, MD., Executive Vice President, Research, at JDRF, said: "'These studies demonstrate that type 1 diabetes and celiac disease share far greater genetic overlap than had been appreciated, which helps explain the high prevalence of both diseases occurring simultaneously in an individual, and provide new avenues for understanding the cause and mechanisms of both diseases.'"

Apparently they found that people with these diseases share seven loci with each other, which is pretty crazy. I talked about this a few posts back, the correlation between these two diseases, but I thought it was only one gene that did it.

allergies: nature or nuture?

From the New York Times: Researchers Put a Microscope on Food Allergies

I find research like this pretty interesting, because 4/5 members of my immediate family have celiac disese, an allergy to certain types of grain proteins, especially in wheat, rye, barley, and oats. What causes allergies? Is it genetic or triggered by environment? My dad has it, and so do me and my two sisters. Recently I found out the same gene that can cause it has also been linked to thyroid disorders, which many of my mother's sisters have, and diabetes 1, which my grandmother had. So I wonder if my sisters and I got the gene from both sides, and that's why we have it.

A lot of people have wheat sensitivities, and I think a lot more people have celiac that don't realize it. Seems like autoimmune disorders are becoming more prevalent. I wonder if they're becoming more common, or just that we're noticing more?