Health Experts Open Celiac Disease Seminar To Public

Doctors at Mt. Nittany Medical Center in State College will hold a public forum to discuss Celiac disease diagnosis and treatment Thursday evening.

Dr. Michael Flanagan organized the “How to identify a clinical chameleon” educational series at Mt. Nittany, offering presentations to health care providers and the public about difficult-to-diagnose medical disorders.

“Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition that is actually much more common than most physicians have thought it to be,” said Flanagan. “It’s actually about 1 percent of the population worldwide.”

People who suffer from Celiac disease are easily sickened by eating foods with gluten and are often misdiagnosed.

“It can present as chronic arthritis. It can present as short stature in children, for example. There’s a wide range of presenting symptoms,” said Flanagan.

The Celiac disease seminar will feature guest speaker Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The seminar will be Thursday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. inside the Galen and Nancy Dreibelbis Auditorium at Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College.

A gluten-free buffet will be served before the seminar at 6 p.m. for a fee.

Registration for the buffet is required at 814-234-6738.