038: Symptom Relief With AI, Grandma's Oatmeal Cookies, IL-15 Immune Blockers

August 2024

Aug 23, 2024

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How AI Health Diagnosis Helped Me Pin Down an Elusive Illness

Are you struggling with unexplained symptoms even though you are strictly gluten free? Have you considered AI health diagnosis tools? An AI, specifically Chat GPT helped me diagnose a condition that eluded my doctors for years.

If you have been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, you know the frustration. For many, it can take more than 10 years to get a celiac diagnosis. But what if your symptoms don’t go away or new symptoms pop up even after you have gone gluten free?

This is common. People with celiac disease often have related conditions, food intolerances or autoimmune diseases. A celiac diagnosis is not the end of the road. For many of us it is the beginning.

In this article, I'll share my experience using artificial intelligence to pin down the cause of my unexplained symptoms. Then I'll give you a step-by-step guide so you can try it yourself.

Go here to learn how ChatGPT helped me diagnose my symptoms.

Featured Recipe

Grandma's Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Sweet Tradition

Do you remember the delightful scent of freshly baked cookies wafting through your home as a kid? If you’re like me, those old-fashioned oatmeal cookies hold a special place in your heart. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that capture that memory and satisfy the desire for a sweet treat?

I discovered a treasure trove of memories as I thumbed through my mom's old homemade recipe book. She started it in home-ec class in the 1950’s and continued to add to it throughout her adulthood. Hidden among the yellowed pages on a cut out square of cardboard was a recipe for oatmeal cookies that I can only assume she cut from the back of a Quaker Oats box, maybe 60 years ago

Go here for my gluten free version of Mom’s traditional oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Let me know how you like it in the FB Group.

News From the Scientific Community

Exciting Research on IL-15 Blockers for Celiac Disease

In last month’s NGF Digest we talked about clinical trials for an enzyme that would break gluten down so that it won’t cause an autoimmune reaction in people with celiac disease.

This months spotlight goes to a targeted immune blocker called PRV-015 that could “calm down” the immune system reducing inflammation in people with celiac disease.

This promising area of research involves a molecule called Interleukin-15, or IL-15. It is part of the immune system and plays a crucial role in the body’s response to gluten in people with celiac disease. When someone with CD eats gluten, their immune system reacts aggressively, leading to inflammation and damage in the small intestine. IL-15 is a key player in this inflammatory process.

What Are IL-15 Blockers?

IL-15 blockers are a type of medication designed to target and block the action of IL-15, "calming down" the immune system, thereby reducing inflammation and the associated damage to the gut lining.

If these treatments are successful, they could provide a safety net against accidental gluten exposure. This could be particularly helpful when dining out or when dealing with potential cross-contamination at home.

Current Research and Trials

Several studies and clinical trials are currently underway to test the effectiveness and safety of IL-15 blockers in people with celiac disease. One such blocker, AMG 714 (also known as PRV-015), is being developed by Provention Bio. Early studies have shown promising results, with patients experiencing fewer symptoms and less inflammation in their intestines after taking the medication. Importantly, the drug was also well-tolerated by most participants, meaning it didn't cause significant side effects.

Research is still in its early stages and IL-15 blockers are not yet available as a treatment for celiac disease. Yet the progress is promising. Scientists are hopeful that with continued study, these medications could offer relief and protection to those who struggle with strict gluten-free living.

Go here for up-to-date information on phase 2b clinical trials on PRV-015

What Do You Think?

I’d love to hear what you think. The treatments we’ve talked about in the last few issues have not been cures for celiac disease, but would help to ease the fears of accidental “glutening”. How would that change your life? Would it make you less worried about travelling, socializing, eating in restaurants?

What I’m Reading

The Omnivore's Dilemma:

A Natural History of Four Meals - Michael Pollan

It’s hard to believe this book was published in 2008, yet so little has changed.

Well, maybe more has changed than we realize. There are rumblings. The industrial corn based food chain still controls most of what we eat, and it’s still unhealthy, and we still eat way too much of it, but there are rumblings.

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan takes us through the gripping tale of how corn partnered with Agribusiness to take over the world. From the advent of chemical pesticides and fertilizers after the world wars to the politics of the 1960’s and 70’s and on to the marketing and manipulation that goes on today and skews our understanding of what is good for us and what will make us healthy.

Go here for my full review of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and if it interest you, pick it up and give it a read.

That’s All For This Month

I’d love to hear from you. Let me know what you’d like to see in the newsletter. Just drop me a line from my Contact Page .

Talk to you soon.

Patty

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