  A Pill So People With Celiac Disease Can Eat Freely?  FRIDAY,
Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- For people with celiac disease,
everyday foods such as bread, pizza crust and muffins are
potential enemies. But scientists anticipate that some day a
simple pill could help prevent the digestive upsets caused by
ingesting the gluten in wheat, rye or barley products.  The only
current treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet. A
new study, however, offers some potential for hope. Researchers
have re-engineered a naturally occurring enzyme, kumamolisin-As,
to break down gluten in the stomach into much smaller protein
pieces, called peptides. They say these are less likely to
trigger the autoimmune response that can create a wide range of
painful and irritating symptoms.  The re-engineered enzyme,
named KumaMax, appears to be highly effective, at least in a
test tube. It dismantled more than 95 percent of a gluten
peptide that is thought to cause celiac disease, according to
the study, which was published recentl