New Study Links Gluten Sensitivity to Brain Failure
Celiac disease, may in fact be the most common disease of mankind, affecting about 1% of humanity. It is generally described as being a chronic digestive disorder, caused by an increased sensitivity to gluten, a common protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Typically, medical texts describe various gastrointestinal manifestations of this disease including malnutrition, a distended abdomen, and the passage of stools having a high fat content.
New research on celiac disease indicates that it can have a profound effect on the nervous system. In fact a physician in Great Britain, Dr. Maios Hadjivassiliou, who is a recognized world authority on gluten sensitivity, reported in the journal, The Lancet, that gluten sensitivity can actually be at times exclusively a neurological disease. That means that people can be showing symptoms of gluten sensitivity by having issues with brain function without any gastrointestinal problems whatsoever.
Researchers in Israel have described neurological problems in 51 percent of children with gluten sensitivity. They also have described a link between gluten sensitivity and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Actually, the link between gluten sensitivity and problems with brain function, including learning disabilities, and even memory problems, is not that difficult to understand. Gluten sensitivity is caused by elevated levels of antibodies against a component of gluten called gliadin. This antibody (the antigliadin antibody) combines with gliadin when a person is exposed to any gluten-containing food like wheat, barley or rye.
When this happens, protein-specific genes are turned on in a special type of immune cell in the body. When these genes are turned on, inflammatory chemicals called cytokines are created. Cytokines, which are the chemical mediators of inflammation, are directly detrimental to brain function. In fact, elevated levels of cytokines are seen in such devastating conditions as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and even autism. Essentially, the brain does not like inflammation and responds quite negatively to the presence of cytokines.
In a recent issue of Archives of Neurology (http://archneur.ama-assn.org), Mayo Clinic researchers reported a strong relationship between celiac disease and declining brain function. The authors described coincidental problems of both gastrointestinal as well as brain function in a surprisingly high number of individuals. Interestingly, in describing their patients they report,
cognitive impairment associated with celiac disease was never the initial clinical diagnosis. They further ask clinicians for
a reevaluation of the role of celiac disease in causing cognitive impairment [as it] has the potential of expanding the narrow spectrum of treatable dementia.
So the take home message, from a preventative perspective, is to ask your doctor to do a simple blood test for gluten sensitivity before you suspect you are one taco short of a combo platter.
Comments
January 25th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Three weeks back [I was] diagnosed with Parkinson’s. On medication and taking high doses of COQ10 and other antioxidants. How about glutathione?
January 25th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
While I cannot make specific recommendations to you, we begin glutathione therapy even in the earliest stages of PD in our patients. We feel this, along with other antioxidants like CoenzymeQ10, may slow the progression of the disease.
January 26th, 2007 at 7:15 am
We need more renegade neurologists in the world!! Thank you for your blog.
My daughter had neurological symptoms that completely vanished after beginning a gluten free diet on a leap of faith over five years ago, based upon the research of Dr. Marious Hadjivassiliou. No celiac disease.
I also had many neurological problems related to a B12 deficiency that went undiagnosed for several years.
Hope to see you blog about that soon, too!
Great Blog…I will keep reading
, and will add this link to The Gluten File, a personal website relating to everything ‘gluten’.
Cara
January 26th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Thanks for the comment. Upcoming post will discuss implications of low B12 and how various medications can deprive the brain of this vital nutrient.
January 26th, 2007 at 8:36 am
After reading an article by Dr.Hadjivassiliou this past spring I spoke to my daughters geneticis and had her tested, she tested positive for gluten sensitivity and we have started her on a gluten free diet. I can’t say we have seen many changes, we were hoping for a little better seizure control or at least a slight increase in her cognative ability. On top of her seizures and developmental delays she was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-tooth last year, during the time we were starting to go gluten free she was having an increase in her symptoms of CMT. After a short period of time the symptoms actually decreased and we have not seen progression until reecently when she started taking B6 to offset some behavior issues we felt related to Keppra.
All of this just to say that I am thrilled to see someone else who is willing to think outside of the box! Our geneticist is onboard with this thinking, but the neurolgist is a hard sell. Hopefully this will start to become more accepted as fact and we will really not be looked at like we are “one taco short of a combo.”
Thanks!
January 27th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
It is great to see another neurologist who understands gluten can cause neurological damage.
I feel Dr. Hadjivassiliou saved my life by writing articles. Three years ago I thought I was dying with overwhelming fatigue, brain fog, peripheral neuropathy and many more symptoms. After reading his articles I asked my doctors to test me for CD. They both refused. I turned to http://www.enterolab.com and had my stool tested for antiglaidin antibodies. tTG and malabsorption. I was positive on all tests.
I started on a GF life 3 years ago and have never looked back. My fog and fatigue are gone. Although I still have numbness, the pain from my PN is now little to none. I have my life back.
I look forward to reading more on your blog.
Thank you,
Anne
January 27th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
These last two comments are important to read. They are typical experiences of patients we see frquently. Gluten sensitivity is far more common than most physicians recognize and is responsible for a lot of otherwise perplexing neurological issues. Celiac Disease Gluten-free Diet Support Center at Celiac.com is a wonderful web site for information on celiac disease.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
In a desperate attempt to get some answers as to what was making me so chronically sick, my Allergist tested me for Celiac. The test came back normal except a slightly elevated Anti-Gliadin IgG so I was told I did not have Celiac. 6 months later, I learned that Gluten can cause other things besides malabsorption and so got tested through Enterolab. The results were that I did indeed have elevated IgA and IgG antibodies to gliadin, increased stool fat, and also the gene for Celiac. I went gluten-free and the first things that disappeared were the Menstrual Migraines & Cramps. And I noticed I didn’t feel so heavy after meals. Unfortunately other things are going on with me because I’m still pretty sick, but I sure don’t miss the gluten-induced Migraines/Cramps that I’d had since childhood. Thanks for thinking “outside the box”.
-Razzle
January 29th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
Razzle. Very good points about testing. Recognizing how important this in relation to brain health, Genova Diagnostics now includes gluten sensitivity testing as part of their Better Brain Panel. GDX Better Brain Profile
January 31st, 2007 at 8:30 am
Do you know any neurologists in California who know about neurological symptoms related to CD and gluten sensitivity? I have been to 3 or 4 neurologists so far and they all have mentioned depression even after being diagnosed CD and recently found out GS too. I have ataxia and peripheral neuropathy among a list of other symptoms. Even with all we have been through since Sept. 2005 when all this started I have never felt depressed. Angry, yes, not depressed.
Thank you!!
January 31st, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Jacqui.
I know of no particular neurologist in your area but here is a list of physicians specializing in celiac disease http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/digestive-health/nutritionarticles/Sept0603.pdf.  Also, you will find this site particularly helpful as neuropathy and ataxia are in fact very common manifestations of celiac disease. Celiac.com Celiac Disease: (Ataxia, Nerve Disease, Neuropathy, Brain Damage and Celiac Disease) Gluten-Free
February 6th, 2007 at 8:43 am
There’s a great book about gluten sensitivity: The Gluten Connection by Shari Lieberman. She points out that gluten sensitivity goes far beyond CD. If I remember right she says about one percent of people have CD and almost 30 percent are gluten sensitive! The problem in recognizing the problem has been lack of appropriate testing (only blood tests which show only CD). Fortunately at least enterolab (as some of you posted) does saliva and stool testing too. Too bad they don’t do those tests here in Finland yet.
February 7th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
I agree that The Gluten Connection is a very valuable source of information. Here is a link to this important book: Amazon.com: The Gluten Connection: How Gluten Sensitivity May Be Sabotaging Your Health–And What You Can Do to Take Control …
April 29th, 2007 at 5:40 am
I wish there were more written about the psychological effects of gluten on people with celiac. It is a problem that is barely recognized, but those of us who have it know it well.
I self-diagnosed for gluten years ago when bloating, explosive diarrhea and dermatitis herpetiformas (sp?) became too much to ignore. The abdominal symptoms disappeared immediately and the skin problems after several months. What I didn’t expect when I went GF was that persistent depression and weariness would also lift immediately.
But now, I find that I face risks of psychological reactions, as well as the physical ones, if my food has any gluten contamination. I just had to leave a weekend conference — unmanageably anxious and in tears — because of brain chemical reactions to what was probably a contamination of a serving spoon that had been shared between a pasta dish (unsafe) and a vegetable dish (safe).
I know I’m looking at a day or two of this reaction, before it clears. There is nothing I can do, but wait it out. And frankly, if I hadn’t called my sister, who is also celiac, to ask for help in calming down, I wouldn’t even have realized it was gluten. “What did you eat?” she said, because she recognized the symptom.
It’s common enough that we both recognize it, but there is virtually nothing on the internet that describes it. It’s embarrassing and it can be disruptive to work, and I wish there was some literature I could pass on to other people, so they wouldn’t think I am crazy or unstable when it happens.
April 30th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
This is an important response. We do see psychological issues in celiac patients that resolve readily when a gluten free diet is maintained. This article is worth reading: Gluten intolerance: a paradigm of an epidemic Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients It is from the Townsend Letter where I have published various articles over the years.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Hello
I have charcot marie tooth type 1 Neuropathie. IS there anyone who has tried a gluten-free diet. Was ther a change (increase -decrease of syptons). We have also a child in the family who has coeliaki and she has no symptoms of cmt. I thought there could be a link.
Please is there any one who has an answer for me?
Greatings from belgium
August 11th, 2009 at 10:39 am
My husband (and his sister and brother) have charcot marie tooth as well, as did his maternal grandmother. I’m looking for the same answers as you are. One thing I am finding in a few studies is a possible link to kidney disease with this syndrome. He and his sister both have gastrointestinal symptoms as well as other symptoms indicating possible kidney problems such as vitamin D deficiency. My husband also has abdominal distention which may be related to kidneys. His grandmother had this distended abdomen problem too. My daughter has hypoglycemia. We haven’t tried the gluten free diet yet. I’ll be interested to know if you do.
August 16th, 2009 at 4:17 am
In my practice, we always check for gluten sensitivity in a situation like this.
August 25th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I was diagnosed with Celiac in November of last year and lately have become more fatigued and can’t remeber even the smallest thing, luckily I have an 8 year old that can. I feel no one is even trying to help me, they tell me it’s depression, or sleep apnea, etc… I really feel this is due to malnourishment, I have even seen the Boston Celiac Center and they told me I was in remission and to just stay on the GF diet.
September 14th, 2009 at 3:39 am
I am my 80 year old, Italian mom’s caregiver. I was brought up on pasta and bread. My mom didn’t eat right over the years and became a Type 2 diabetic, heart disease (pace maker installed), obesity and most recently, dementia.
My mom has lived with me for 11 years. When we sold my house and moved last year when I got married, my mom seemed to lose her mind. She had hallucinations that were scaring the hell out of her and freaking me out because I didn’t know what to do.
After months of being woken in the night by my mom because she didn’t know if it was day or night, our Naturopath Doctor mentioned the possibility that she could have Gluten Associated Dementia.
Our doctor suggested that we cut out gluten from her diet for a couple of weeks and see what happens. I’ve been making food that is gluten free and my mom’s dementia is GONE. It is miraculous to have her annoying me again for her own entertainment, just like the old days. Who knew I’d welcome a bit of mental sparing with my elderly mom?!
I write a blog about caring for my mom and the journey we are taking to help her to live as a healthy senior and out of a nursing home.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:51 am
I was diagnosed 1 1/2 yrs ago with celiac disease. I have probably had it my whole life. I am currently following an even more restrictive version of the specific carb diet and am finally feeling well again. However I am super sensitive to gluten and have to be very careful about any contamination or anything that may touch my skin. And on top of that I have a serious reaction to airborne gluten as well. And yes, I am positive it is airborne gluten. All I have to do is get too close to the bread aisle in the grocery store and I have serious problems. My reaction to airborne gluten always progresses the same way first a blinding headache then problems talking and thinking as well as problems with memory then problems moving my arms and legs and then an overwhelming lethargy. I am generally sick for 3-5 days after exposure as well. I can’t seem to find a Dr that understands enough about CD to help me though. I am in the Tampa area, please tell me you know of a neurologist here who is celiac-knowledgable enough to help????? I am desperate. My world has become very small because everywhere I go someone is eating something.
October 6th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Take a look at http://www.allergie-immun.de – click on English unless you speak German. AI has found a method to eliminate wheat/gluten allergies, and more at the DNA level.
We are just now doing the therapy, which is quite simple, correcting the errors in the DNA.
Good luck. Feel free to contact me.
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