Current #antibody tests for #coronavirus are conducted using samples of blood. Relatively little research has been done into the presence of any antibody responses in #saliva. These tests are crucial to determining whether we have had the virus already and even more importantly, if and for how long we may be protected from contracting it again. Researchers from the University of Toronto have just had their study published in Science Immunology (October 2020) which compared the antibody levels from both blood and saliva samples from #COVID-19 patients for three months after initial symptoms.

As a Nutritional Therapist the concepts of gluten reactivity outside of the diagnosis of coeliac disease has been an easy leap of faith. Over the last few years as a greater understanding of different gluten sensitivity conditions have been uncovered, many scientists are revisiting conditions to see if there may be a correlation of clinical relevance.

In one study published in the open access journal PLOS researchers have found elevated antibodies to gluten proteins of wheat in children with autism in comparison to those without autism. The results also indicated an association between the elevated antibodies and the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms in the affected children.[1] They did not find any connection, however, between the elevated antibodies and coeliac disease, an autoimmune disorder known to be triggered by gluten.

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Comment: Mouse studies with human antibodies at Hopkins Children’s add weight to earlier research. A report on the research from investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Centre published online in the Journal of Neuroimmunology expands on a 2008 report from the same team showing that mothers of autistic children tested positive for foetal brain antibodies.