Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness

Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness 24 Jan 2007 16:57 #500

Debra
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Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2002;72:560-563
ï¿½ 2002 Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry

[font=arial,verdana,helvetica]EDITORIAL[/font]

[size=+1]Gluten sensitivity[/size]

Gluten sensitivity as a neurological illness
M Hadjivassiliou, R A Grï¿½newald and G A B Davies-Jones

[size=-1]Department of Neurology, The Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2JF, UK [/size]

[size=-1]Correspondence to:
Dr M Hadjivassiliou, Department of Neurology, The Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield, S10 2JF, UK;
m.hadjivassiliou@sheffield.ac.uk

[/size]

THE NEUROLOGY OF GLUTEN SENSITIVITY
Over the past 8 years we have used antigliadin antibodies toscreen patients with neurological dysfunction of unknown aetiology.Our original study concluded that gluten sensitivity playedan important part in neurological illness.¹⁷[/url] The evidence wasstatistical: Patients with neurological disease of unknown aetiologywere found to have a much higher prevalence of circulating antigliadinantibodies (57%) in their blood than either healthy controlsubjects (12%) or those with neurological disorders of knownaetiology (5%). Since then we have identified 131 patients withgluten sensitivity and neurological disorders of unknown aetiology.Table 2

shows the neurological diagnoses we have encountered.Perhaps not surprisingly the commonest manifestations are ataxia(also known as gluten ataxia ¹⁸ ) and peripheral neuropathy. ¹⁹

http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/72/5/560

the full article is available at the link above

Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness 24 Jan 2007 17:07 #501

Debra
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Anyone with a double HLA DQ1 will also want to read the above article

IgG anti-gliadin antibodies have been the best diagnostic markerin the neurological population we have studied. IgG anti-gliadinantibodies have a very high sensitivity for CD but they aresaid to lack specificity. In the context of a range of mucosalabnormalities and the concept of potential CD, they may be theonly available immunological marker for the whole range of glutensensitivity of which CD is only a part. Further support forour contention comes from our HLA studies. Within the groupof patients with neurological disease and gluten sensitivity(defined by the presence of anti-gliadin antibodies) we havefound a similar HLA association to that seen in patients withCD: 70% of patients have the HLA DQ2 (30% in the general population),9% have the HLA DQ8, and the remainder have HLA DQ1. The findingof an additional HLA marker (DQ1) seen in the remaining 20%of our patients may represent an important difference betweenthe genetic susceptibility of patients with neurological presentationto those with gastrointestinal presentation within the rangeof gluten sensitivity.

Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness 31 Oct 2007 14:37 #502

Debra
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More research referencing Dr. Hadjivassiliou

I couldn't decide where to post this article since it's related to gluten and neurological function so I will post in a couple places...this article is written by Dr. Scott Lewey a gastroenterologist who does recognize non-celiac gluten intolerance/sensitivity.

If you're close to Colorado Springs and need a good GI doc his contact information is included in this article:

Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance Linked to Brain Disease By Deposits in the Brain and Intestines

Antibodies for tissue transglutaminase found in the intestines of blood test negative celiac disease patients are also found in the intestine and brain in people with brain disease due to gluten. Gluten ataxia is a brain disorder characterized by balance disturbances not explained by any other cause but due to the ingestion of gluten. The disorder responds to a gluten free diet if irreversible brain damage has not already occurred. Calcifications can be seen in the brain on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Deposits of gluten related antibodies have been found in brain tissue obtained on biopsy and autopsy specimens. Mario Hadjivassiliou, M.D. from Sheffield England recommends gluten ataxia be added to a list of gluten related diseases that includes peripheral neuropathy and the skin disorder dermatitis herpetiformis. He has called for a new paradigm to be accepted where celiac disease is not considered primarily as an intestinal disease.

Dr. Hadjivassiliou and colleagues recently published a report of nine patients with gluten ataxia compared with seven patients with ataxia due to other causes. They found tissue transglutaminase IgA deposition on jejunum intestinal tissue on all nine patients with gluten ataxia but none of the control patients. Brain tissue from an autopsy of one patient with gluten ataxia was also found to have IgA tTG deposits in the cerebellum, pons and medulla of the brain but not in a control brain.

Previous studies have found negative celiac blood tests in patients with gluten ataxia suggesting that they may not have celiac though they had a gluten related disease. In light of a new report that blood test negative celiac disease can have intestinal tTG and advanced intestinal damage it is curious to wonder if the gluten ataxia patients with blood tests negative are seronegative celiacs. It is increasingly appearing that there is a very broad spectrum of gluten related disease and there are non-celiac gluten related symptoms that include the brain, skin, musculoskeletal system as well as the gut.

Many patients I have seen with gluten sensitivity describe symptoms of balance difficulty, concentration problems or â€œbrain fogâ€, headaches, and neuropathy and a few report symptoms such as â€œbug crawlingâ€ sensations and strange muscle twitches. These symptoms commonly improve with a gluten-free diet and return with intentional or accidental gluten exposure. For some, intestinal symptoms or skin rashes occur but not all. The concept of gluten as a cause of brain symptoms is still not one widely known or accepted by many doctors, especially in the United States. However in Europe, especially England, Germany and Scandinavian countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand the gluten brain-gut connection is more accepted.

Casein causing brain symptoms is also not commonly accepted by doctors in the U.S. though many lay public organizations and support groups have found a casein-free diet to be associated with improvement of brain function as well as helping autism.

What is needed is more openness of U.S. doctors to the role of diet and foods in such symptoms and diseases and much more scientific research. I ask you to join me on the journey of the food, bacteria, gut-brain-joint-skin connection to disease and health

References:

Autoantibody targeting of brain and intestinal transglutaminase in gluten ataxia. Hadjivassiliou M. et. al. Neurology 2006; 66:373-377.

Endomysial antibody-negative coeliac disease: clinical characteristics and intestinal autoantibody deposits. Gut 2006; 55:1746-1753.

The Food Doc, Dr. Scot Lewey, is an expert medical doctor specializing in digestive diseases and food related illness, especially food allergies, celiac disease and colitis. Dr. Lewey's expert reputation as the Food Doc is established by a foundation of formal training in internal medicine, pediatrics, and gastroenterology (diseases of the digestive tract), his personal and family experience with gluten and milk sensitivity, and over two decades as a practicing physician, clinical researcher, author and speaker. Access this expert knowledge online today at http://www.thefooddoc.com

Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness 01 Nov 2007 08:09 #503

Debra
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debra, thank you so much for posting these articles. if you find any more information that describes "symptoms of balance difficulty, concentration problems or â€œbrain fogâ€, headaches, and neuropathy and a few report symptoms such as â€œbug crawlingâ€ sensations and strange muscle twitches" would you alert us to them? i'm especially interested in the loss of concentration and memory that i seem to be afflicted with during my luteal period. it seems as though i am losing my mind. though i've always experienced a loss of coordination, i recently have also experienced the twitching and acheing of muscle and skin, or pain in my veins, particularly along my legs. that physical sensation a few days before my period was so bad it would wake me and keep me up all night. thanks again for the research. a

Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness 01 Nov 2007 14:02 #505

Debra Topic Author Offline Administrator CycleDiet Registered Dietitian Posts: 2416 Karma: 3 Thank you received: 129	You can read a personal essay regarding neurological Celiac and how gluten can affect the brain here: Your e-mail address will never be displayed on the site. Check this box to be notified of replies to this topic. Note: BBcode and smileys are still usable.

Gluten Sensitivity as a Neurological Illness 19 Nov 2007 20:40 #504

Debra
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This is a re-post of Al's aka... Alkap from the Gluten Free/Celiac forum on Neurological effects of gluten, I thought this would also be a good place for it, just in case some don't get to that forum. Thanks again Al You may notice the same article as above in the list.

Hi Deb,

Interesting [and frustrating story] and all too common, sadly

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