Successful recruitment of patients with celiac disease

‘It was an interesting study in many ways—scientifically and technically, as well as in terms of recruitment’, says Dr Naomi Klarenbeek, Research Director Internal Medicine at CHDR. ‘It involved a specific subgroup of patients, which meant we had to screen many individuals to find those eligible for inclusion. Since most celiac patients in the Netherlands are not treated in hospitals, traditional recruitment through medical specialists was not an option. Fortunately, our targeted social media campaign proved highly effective, allowing us to quickly identify and recruit the right participants. As a result, CHDR became the top-recruiting site in this multicentre trial.'

To assess the efficacy of the new treatment, participants were exposed to gliadin—the component of wheat gluten that triggers the characteristic immune response in people with celiac disease. ‘Participants first ate biscuits containing gliadin, after which blood was taken for the baseline measurement. Following administration of either the investigational drug or a placebo, they consumed the biscuits again, and we took another blood sample', Klarenbeek explains.

The initial results are promising and will be presented during the plenary session of a large international conference. 'We’re proud to have contributed to a study that could lead to meaningful advances for people living with celiac disease', says Klarenbeek.