Both collagenous and lymphocytic colitis have been described in patients wi
th celiac disease, suggesting an association between the conditions. Over t
he past few years, the availability, sensitivity and specificity of serolog
ical markers for celiac disease have improved - the most recent advancement
being the description of tissue transglutaminase as the major antigen for
endomysium antibody. A quantitative ELISA was used to measure titres of imm
unoglobulin A (IgA) antibody to tissue transglutaminase (tTG) along with an
immunofluorescent technique for IgA endomysium antibody (EmA) in 15 patien
ts with lymphocytic colitis and eight with collagenous colitis to determine
whether celiac disease latency could be detected. One patient with lymphoc
ytic colitis demonstrated both elevated titres of tTG antibody and positive
EmA, and small bowel biopsy confirmed celiac disease. One patient with col
lagenous colitis had a slightly elevated titre of tTG antibody with a negat
ive EmA, and results of a small bowel biopsy were normal. Three other patie
nts with lymphocytic colitis were already treated for previously diagnosed
celiac disease. The prevalence of celiac disease occurring in lymphocytic c
olitis was found to be 27%, but no cases of celiac disease in association w
ith collagenous colitis were found.