Neuropathy in Celiac Disease

 Antibodies to gangliosides and Purkinje cells have been reported in patients with celiac disease (CD) with neuropathy and ataxia, respectively. The response of neurological symptoms and antibody titers to a gluten-free diet is still controversial. The objective of our study was to assess whether neurological manifestations in CD patients correlate with antibody titers and a gluten-free diet. Thirty-five CD patients (9 males, 26 females, mean age 37.1 +/- 12.6 yrs) were followed prospectively. At initial evaluation, 23 were on a gluten-free diet, 12 were not. At recruitment and during follow-up, patients underwent neurological and electrophysiological evaluation. IgG, IgM, and IgA anti-ganglioside antibodies were assayed by ELISA; anti-neuronal antibodies were assessed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Four patients, all males, had electrophysiological evidence of neuropathy; three had been on a gluten-free diet for several months, and one was newly diagnosed. One had reduced tendon reflexes; another complained of distal paresthesias. With regard to anti-ganglioside antibodies, three patients had a moderate increase in antibodies without symptoms or signs of neuropathy. No patients had ataxia or cerebellar dysfunction, although in four patients reactivity to neuronal antigens was found. In 17 patients, an electrophysiological follow-up (mean duration of follow-up, 9 months) showed no changes.

Department of Neurosciences, University of Padua, Via Giustiniani Padua, Italy.

 In conclusion, the preliminary results of this prospective study indicate that neuropathy, usually subclinical, may accompany CD. Antibody titers do not seem to correlate with neurological symptoms/signs or diet. Ongoing follow-up will help confirm these data and clarify the role, if any, of antibodies in neurological involvement in CD .

CIDPUSA Concludes that other treatments are needed to help these patients rather then the usual Gluten free diet.

Neuropathy

Peripheral Neuropathy, which affects up to 20 million people in the U.S., can cause pain, numbness and weakness in the arms and legs and, when left untreated, can progress to debilitation.

In an article published in todays neurology, five percent of all patients with neuropathy were found to also have celiac disease, which results from an allergy to gluten in bread and other wheat products, and is estimated to affect one out of every 150 people. Based on the diagnosis, we are now able to treat a substantial number of patients with neuropathy who previously could not be helped, said Dr. Russell Chin, the first author of the paper.

In addition, patients with celiac disease tended to have a type of neuropathy called small fiber neuropathy which often causes severe burning, stinging, and electric-shock like pains, but is often misdiagnosed as it is undetectable with routine tests used by neurologists to diagnose neuropathy. Approximately 16% of all patients with small fiber neuropathy were found to have celiac disease. Many of our patients were told that there was nothing physically wrong with them, and were advised to seek psychiatric care for presumed anxiety or depression, noted Dr. Norman Latov, Medical and Scientific Director of The Neuropathy Association, and senior author of the study. You too would be anxious and depressed if you were in constant pain, and no-one believed you or offered to help.

Celiac disease is known to run in families, and in several of the cases, other family members were affected. Some were erroneously diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, an inherited form of neuropathy due to genetic mutations. Not all familial cases of neuropathy are due to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, noted Dr. Latov. Peripheral neuropathy can also occur in association with other causes for neuropathy that run in families, such as diabetes or autoimmunity, for example.

The article also notes that one third of the celiac neuropathy patients did not have any gastrointestinal symptoms such as malabsorption, abdominal pain or diarrhea, which are associated with celiac disease.

Please continue to the Migraine caused by celiac disease

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