Why is a study of celiac disease and intestinal biopsy even a person who has no symptoms? There are two main reasons:

• As mentioned celiac disease occurs most often between members of the same family.
• It is known that certain problems or diseases, most commonly associated with an increased risk of celiac disease. The most common are: dermatitis herpetiformis, currently considered as a form of celiac disease, diabetes mellitus, and Down syndrome. In turn, celiac disease is associated with a variety of processes, particularly autoimmune diseases (caused by the system of defenses of the body).

In following the processes mentioned above, with special importance in the case of first-degree relatives of celiac patients (parents, siblings and children) should do regular checks including serum markers and even a biopsy because:

Without obvious symptoms may have intestinal lesions (asymptomatic celiac disease). Initially they may have a normal intestinal biopsy, even with symptoms, and eventually present the intestinal atrophy (latent celiac disease).

At present it is thought that these forms without symptoms may be very frequent and even surpass the symptomatic forms.