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Celiac Disease Screening Recommended for Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) with Iron Deficiency
- By Jefferson Adams
- Published 02/9/2009
- Ataxia, Nerve Disease, Neuropathy, Brain Damage and Celiac Disease
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Jefferson Adams
Jefferson Adams is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. His poems, essays and photographs have appeared in Antioch Review, Blue Mesa Review, CALIBAN, Hayden's Ferry Review, Huffington Post, the Mississippi Review, and Slate among others.
View all articles by Jefferson AdamsCeliac Disease Screening Recommended for Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) with Iron Deficiency
Celiac.com 02/09/2009 - Doctors are recommending simple, low-cost blood tests to screen for celiac disease in patients who have Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) with low serum ferritin, but who otherwise show no clear cause for iron deficiency.
Low iron reserves are a known risk factor Restless Leg Syndrome, as blood iron levels below 45-50ng/mL have been tied to more severe expressions of RLS. In fact, iron levels are so important to assessing RLS, that it is now common for doctors to test blood ferritin levels when first assessing Restless Leg Syndrome. Celiac disease is a common genetic disorder of the immune system that can cause iron deficiency.
Doctors S. Manchanda, C.R. Davies, and D. Picchietti of the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently set out to determine if celiac disease might play a role in iron deficiency in patients with Restless Leg Syndrome.
The doctors evaluated a series of four patients with Restless Leg Syndrome and blood ferritin below 25ng/mL, who had shown positive blood tests for celiac disease. Doctors confirmed celiac disease for all four patients via duodenal biopsy and positive reaction to a gluten-free diet. In each case, Restless Leg Syndrome symptoms improved, with two patients discontinuing Restless Leg Syndrome medication and two responding positively without medication.
The doctors are recommending simple, low-cost blood tests to screen for celiac disease in patients who have Restless Leg Syndrome with low serum ferritin, but who otherwise show no clear cause for iron deficiency.
They also note that diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease is likely to improve the outcome for those patients with Restless Leg Syndrome, as well as to better identify people at risk for the significant long-term complications associated with celiac disease.
Restless Leg Syndrome is just the latest neurological disorder to show a connection to celiac disease. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.
Source: Sleep Med. 2009 Jan 10. PMID: 19138881
Low iron reserves are a known risk factor Restless Leg Syndrome, as blood iron levels below 45-50ng/mL have been tied to more severe expressions of RLS. In fact, iron levels are so important to assessing RLS, that it is now common for doctors to test blood ferritin levels when first assessing Restless Leg Syndrome. Celiac disease is a common genetic disorder of the immune system that can cause iron deficiency.
Doctors S. Manchanda, C.R. Davies, and D. Picchietti of the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently set out to determine if celiac disease might play a role in iron deficiency in patients with Restless Leg Syndrome.
The doctors evaluated a series of four patients with Restless Leg Syndrome and blood ferritin below 25ng/mL, who had shown positive blood tests for celiac disease. Doctors confirmed celiac disease for all four patients via duodenal biopsy and positive reaction to a gluten-free diet. In each case, Restless Leg Syndrome symptoms improved, with two patients discontinuing Restless Leg Syndrome medication and two responding positively without medication.
The doctors are recommending simple, low-cost blood tests to screen for celiac disease in patients who have Restless Leg Syndrome with low serum ferritin, but who otherwise show no clear cause for iron deficiency.
They also note that diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease is likely to improve the outcome for those patients with Restless Leg Syndrome, as well as to better identify people at risk for the significant long-term complications associated with celiac disease.
Restless Leg Syndrome is just the latest neurological disorder to show a connection to celiac disease. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.
Source: Sleep Med. 2009 Jan 10. PMID: 19138881
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2 Responses to "Celiac Disease Screening Recommended for Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) with Iron Deficiency"
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said this on 02 Mar 2009 7:39:50 AM PST
Iron
M E |
Author)|
said this on 07 Mar 2009 5:43:49 AM PST
Yes -
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