Familial Hypercholesterolaemia

 

The Times today runs an article titled, Screen babies to ensure early detection of high cholesterol, say doctors.

This is a good idea, but the disease affects only one in 500.

I am a coeliac, which means that I am allergic to the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye, so no beer or bread for me. It is not a serious disease for me, but it does lead to increased levels of cancer if undetected.

Serious studies have shown that one in a hundred of the UK population are coeliacs.

I was not diagnosed until I was 56, but I would not have suffered a lifetime of small medical problems, if such a blood test had been available when I was a baby. Incidentally, my doctor at the time, Dr. Egerton White, tried to diagnose the reason I didn't thrive, but the medical knowledge available meant he was unable to.

Now sticking to a gluten-free diet, I feel younger at 60 than I did at 50. I also have no migraines, stomach problems, skin problems and dandruff, gallstones, joint pains and many other ailments caused by undiagnosed coeliac disease.

A simple blood test would improve the lot of many.