Objective: Strict adherence to a gluten-free diet is the only treatment for coeliac disease. The gluten-free diet is complex, costly and impacts on all activities involving food, making it difficult to maintain for a lifetime. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the difficulties experienced, the strategies used and the emotional impact of following a glutenfree diet among Canadians with coeliac disease. Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to all members (n = 10 693) of both the Canadian Celiac Association and the Fondation québécoise de la maladie coeliaque in 2008. Results: The overall response rate was 72%. Results are presented for the 5912 respondents ( 18 years) reporting biopsy-confirmed coeliac disease and/or dermatitis herpetiformis. Two-thirds never intentionally consumed gluten. Women reported significantly greater emotional responses to a gluten-free diet but, with time, were more accepting of it than men. Difficulties and negative emotions were experienced less frequently by those on the diet for >5 years, although food labelling and eating away from home remained very problematic. Frustration and isolation because of the diet were the most common negative emotions experienced. Conclusions: The present study quantifies the difficulties experienced, the strategies used and the emotional impact of following a gluten-free diet. It highlights the need to improve the training and education of dietitians, other health providers and the food service industry workers about coeliac disease and a gluten-free diet, with the aim of better helping individuals improve their adherence to a gluten-free diet and their quality of life.

Domoic acid was identified as the toxin responsible for an outbreak of human poisoning that occurred in Canada in 1987 following consumption of contaminated blue mussels [Mytilus edulis]. The poisoning was characterized by a constellation of clinical symptoms and signs. Among the most prominent features described was memory impairment which led to the name Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning [ASP]. Domoic acid is produced by certain marine organisms, such as the red alga Chondria armata and planktonic diatom of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia. Since 1987, monitoring programs have been successful in preventing other human incidents of ASP. However, there are documented cases of domoic acid intoxication in wild animals and outbreaks of coastal water contamination in many regions world-wide. Hence domoic acid continues to pose a global risk to the health and safety of humans and wildlife. Several mechanisms have been implicated as mediators for the effects of domoic acid. Of particular importance is the role played by glutamate receptors as mediators of excitatory neurotransmission and the demonstration of a wide distribution of these receptors outside the central nervous system, prompting the attention to other tissues as potential target sites. The aim of this document is to provide a comprehensive review of ASP, DOM induced pathology including ultrastructural changes associated to subchronic oral exposure, and discussion of key proposed mechanisms of cell/tissue injury involved in DOM induced brain pathology and considerations relevant to food safety and human health.

We illustrate the speci c cellular distribution of different subtypes of glutamate receptors (GluRs) in peripheral neural and non-neura l tissues. Some of the noteworthy locations are the heart, kidney, lungs, ovary, testis and endocrine cells. In these tissues the GluRs may be important in mediating cardiorespiratory, endocrine and reproductive functions which include hormone regulation, heart rhythm, blood pressure, circulation and reproduction . Since excitotoxicity of excitatory amino acids (EAAs) in the CNS is intimately associated with the GluRs, the toxic effects may be more generalized than initially assumed. Currently there is not enough evidence to suggest the reassessment of the regulated safety levels for these products in food since little is known on how these receptors work in each of these organs. More research is required to assess the extent that these receptors participate in normal functions and/or in the development of diseases and how they mediate the toxic effects of EAAs. Non-neural GluRs may be involved in normal cellular functions such as excitability and cell to cell communication. This is supported by the wide distribution in plants and animals from invertebrates to primates. The important tasks for the future will be to clarify the multiple biological roles of the GluRs in neural and non-neura l tissues and identify the conditions under in which these are up-or down-regulated. Then this could provide new therapeutic strategies to target GluRs outside the CNS.Keywords. Glutamate receptors; peripheral tissues; general injury mechanism; excitotoxicity PERSPECTIVE Food toxicology is the science of evaluating the safety of chemicals that enter the human food chain either as natural compounds, contaminants and/or during processing. To assess chemical safety, tissues and organs are examined for structural, chemical, or functional alterations. These investigations help to establish the safety margins of such compounds for consumption by humans and animals as either food or therapeutic products. Therefore, product safety requires continual reassessment as new information becomes available with advances in technology.Glutamate (Glu) and aspartate (Asp) are naturally occurring amino acids found in the central nervous system (CNS) where they act as major excitatory neurotransmitters (20,21,25,36) by stimulating or exciting the postsynaptic neurons. These excitatory amino acids (EAAs) and their various analogues can be neurotoxic, particularly when they excessively stimulate the same excitatory receptors-a phenomenon known as excitotoxicity (13,20,21,25,36,63). This creates the potential to "over excite" neurons and cause possible neuronal damage. EAAs access the brain tissue of the Address correspondenc e to: Santokh S. Gill, Health Canada, Banting Bldg., Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L2, Canada; email: santokh gill@hc-sc.gc.ca. circumventricular organs that are located outside the blood brain barrier (BBB) (7,67). Despite the BBB protective mechanisms, the local or circulating ...