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• Gallery: Making Tracks for Celiac Awareness Walk

HUNTINGTON -- Dozens of walkers took advantage of sunny, warm weather at Ritter Park on Sunday to raise awareness for an autoimmune disease that affects 1 in 133 Americans.

The fourth annual Making Tracks for Celiac Awareness Walk is important to spreading the word about the disease that affects the small intestine when wheat, barley or rye are consumed, said Dr. Yoram Elitsur, professor of pediatric gastroenterology at Marshall University.

Celiac disease affects about two million people in the United States. But for every person diagnosed, another 80 are undiagnosed, according to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. That's because symptoms are more subtle than what they used to be, Elitsur said.

"The classic symptoms of 30 or 40 years ago like being unable to gain weight and gastrointestinal problems are not true anymore," Elitsur said. "Part of it is the evolution of the disease."

Primary symptoms include diarrhea, bloating, weight loss, anemia, chronic fatigue, weakness, bone pain and muscle cramps. Other symptoms may include constipation or premature osteoporosis. Because many people with Celiac disease do not exhibit symptoms or may just have one symptom, patients are frequently misdiagnosed as having Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a spastic colon or Crohn's disease, according to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America.

Elitsur said a key reason to raise awareness about the disease is because many physicians and patients suffering from symptoms don't know that it only requires a quick blood test to diagnose it.

Ashland Westurn of Ashland was diagnosed with Celiac disease in October 2009. He suffered from malnutrition, diarrhea and dehydration for six to nine months before he was diagnosed.

"The disease was entirely new to me," Westurn said. "I had heard of people eating gluten-free, but I wasn't sure what it meant."

Westurn began attending a monthly support group at the Healthy Life Market at the Huntington Mall. There, he has learned to adjust his diet.

"I've learned to make more of my own food," he said. "You just have to plan your next meal and think ahead. That's the biggest thing."

Sunday's walk was sponsored by Cabell Huntington Hospital and the West Virginia Gluten Intolerance Group. Proceeds from the event will be used to offer free screening opportunities to high-risk patients, provide doctors with educational materials, provide care packages to newly diagnosed patients and expand the Celiac disease awareness campaign.

For more information about Celiac Disease, go to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America's Web site at www.gluten.net or the West Virginia Gluten Intolerance Group's site at www.orgsites.com/wv/wvgig.

Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch

Participants walk a lap around Ritter Park during the Making Tracks for Celiac Awareness Walk on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010, in Huntington.

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