Gluten Ataxia

Neurological symptoms appear to be common in some people with coeliac disease and there is some evidence that some people (not necessarily coeliacs) may suffer from a neurological condition known as gluten ataxia, a condition which has the potential to cause progressive, permanent disability.

A study has shown brain abnormalities in people with coeliac disease who have certain neurological symptoms and these abnormalities are similar to the abnormalities found in people with gluten ataxia.

The study, from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals neurologist Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou looked at the extent of brain abnormality in 33 patients with coeliac disease. Their symptoms included balance disturbances, headache and sensory loss, according to the study. Physicians used advanced MRI imaging to look at their brains, and compared them to a group of controls.

The size of the brain region called the cerebellum, the part of the brain that deals with motor control, and possibly has some functions in language and attention action, appeared significantly less in the patient group than in the control group. 

Also, 36% of the coeliac disease group had "white matter abnormalities," which are most frequently seen in people who have MS.

The group of people who reported headaches had the most of these abnormalities, almost twice the number than those with balance disturbance, and six times more than those with sensory loss, the study said.

The researchers concluded that "patients with established coeliac disease referred for neurological opinion show significant brain abnormality on MR imaging."
 
The study was published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.