One of the year's great medical awakenings is the recognition that an intestinal disorder called celiac disease is much more common in the United States than once believed.

		For local information, check the Web at www.pittsburghceliacs.org, or call Neville at 412-833-9507. The group is affiliated with the national Celiac Sprue Association, which can be found at www.csaceliacs.org. Among other resources, you can check the Celiac Sprue Research Foundation, www.celiacsprue.org; the Celiac Disease Foundation www.celiac.org; and the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research www.celiaccenter.org.

Doctors had considered this condition, which is tied to consumption of gluten or wheat in the diet, rare in the United States -- existing in barely one out of every 4,700 people.

But new studies that led to a scientific review this past summer by a national medical panel determined that it's likely found in one out of every 100 people.

Celiac disease, also known as celiac sprue, occurs in adults and children. It can cause a wide range of symptoms, including stomach pain, both diarrhea and constipation, vomiting, bloating, loss of appetite and weight loss.

Other symptoms have no obvious link to the intestines. They include anemia; rashes on the arms and legs; short stature, slow growth and delayed puberty in children; infertility and repeated miscarriage in women; fatigue; and painful sores in the mouth.

People with celiac disease have immune systems that go ballistic when gluten -- a protein in wheat, rye and barley -- appears in the body. Even small amounts can trigger symptoms. Most people can manage the condition by following a gluten-free diet.

Doctors began to question the old incident numbers last year, after publication of a study headed by Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of Maryland medical school. In his native Italy, celiac disease was very common, and Fasano treated patients all the time.

Fasano expected that to end when he moved to the United States. Instead, he found just as many patients with symptoms here as in Italy. Fasano and his associates began to study its prevalence.

The study, which included 13,000 people in 32 states, found that celiac disease actually affects one in 133 people in the United States. That puts celiac disease among the most common chronic diseases.

Its recognition got a boost this past summer when the National Institutes of Health convened a panel of experts to examine scientific evidence about celiac disease and concluded it might affect one out of every 100 people.

Mary Neville of South Park Township, who has been president of the Greater Pittsburgh Celiac Sprue Support Group since 1992, praised these efforts to raise awareness, but said it creates "wonderful new problems.''

Up until now, most education and promotion of this condition nationally have been pushed at the grass roots level by support groups. They also have done the bulk of dietary counseling.

"Celiacs have been dispensing this information -- some of it good, some of it not so good,'' said Neville, who has done a lot of fund-raising and lobbying nationally.

She's been pushing for creation of a center for celiac excellence that would professionalize the information and support. Neville said it has been hard to get research money because treatment involves primarily a change in diet, rather than development of a pill.

The local group, started with 10 people in 1991, now has more than 600 names on a mailing list. It provides newsletters, educational sessions, cooking demonstrations and recipes, fund-raising and social activities. Members range in age from 6 months to 90.

Neville didn't need a study to tell her how prevalent the condition is in the Pittsburgh area. She's getting more and more calls and e-mails from people who want information. A recent educational session hosted by the support group drew 130 people on a Steeler Sunday.

"It's a good situation to have this awareness. Now we must look at the quality of life. What's the best way to serve this population?" she said.

Several tests are available for diagnosis, ranging from blood tests to a biopsy of the small intestine. The clincher, the NIH said, occurs if symptoms disappear after patients start eating a gluten-free diet.