Parkinson's--a Celiac Connection?

[Rosewynde]

My Maternal Grandmother had Parkinson's and my Celiac Disease is from her side of the family we believe, based on somethings my aunt overheard in discussions when she was younger. So this whole discussion is fascinating to me, I'm even going to forward this to Mom. I do know I get really foggy brained when I've been gluttened, so I know that it does affect the brain.

[MATTW]

THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES, I THOUGHT SOME OF YOU WOULD FIND THIS OLD NEWS INTERESTING.....................MATTW

Science News Share Blog Cite Print Email BookmarkMayo Clinic Discovers Potential Link Between Celiac Disease And Cognitive Decline

ScienceDaily (Oct. 12, 2006)

[gfgypsyqueen]

Thanks for the info! Good article. My dad, with Parkinsons, was actually interested in hearing more about the gluten-free diet and what it would take for him to try it - just to see if it helped. That is a huge change of mindset for him!

[ravenwoodglass]

THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES, I THOUGHT SOME OF YOU WOULD FIND THIS OLD NEWS INTERESTING.....................MATTW

An immune attack on the brain that may occur in some patients with celiac disease

The cognitive decline that occurred in three of the celiac disease patients studied, according to Dr. Josephs, is relatively unique in its reversal in two of the patients and stabilization in one patient. Typically, cognitive decline continues to worsen, he says. "This is key that we may have discovered a reversible form of cognitive impairment," he says.

William Hu, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic neurology resident and study investigator, says that the reversal or stabilization of the cognitive symptoms in some patients when they underwent gluten withdrawal also argues against chance as an explanation of the link between celiac disease and cognitive decline.

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Thanks for posting that Matt. I hate to think where I would be if I hadn't been diagnosed when I was. Actually I am pretty sure I would have been in a nursing home or dead by now.

The above describes me, I hid a lot of stuff even from family and it was even scarier than the pain in many ways. I couldn't remember the names of simple things like a fork, or my children, lost the ability to read and understand and retain, even got in my car and couldn't remember what the keys were for. Unfortunately my neuro didn't recognize celiac brain damage even when it was staring him in the face from a nice clear set of MRIs. For me fortunately post diagnosis a lot has reversed. Some stuff is lost forever most likely but some stuff continues to improve. I have been able to read again for the last couple of months. Something I hadn't been able to do in years. It is important for folks to know that we can recover, it is not a quick process but once gluten free we can regain some of the function that disease has taken away.

I think this sort of cognitive impairment happens more than they realize. It would be nice if they started to test folks with early impairment but that is most likely a long way away.

[dawn...]

i always thought there was a relationship between celiac disease and parkinson. when michael j. fox, the actor was diagnosed, i tried to write him to suggest he go on a gluten free diet. i suggested it to the parkinson group that was connected to his website, but they responded telling me there was no connection. michael j. fox is from canada, where there is a higher incidence of celiac disease. i saw him on the rachel ray show where he talked about what he ate for breakfast and it was high in gluten.

the reason i myself thought there was a connection is because when i am exposed to gluten i feel just like someone who has parkinson.

i wish there was a way to reach michael j. fox to tell him to give a gluten free diet a try. also emily if you could get your parents to be gluten free that would be

good too. dawn )

[Tidings]

This is an old thread, but wanted to revive it long enough to say that both an aunt and an uncle on my father's side had Parkinson's (Palsy), and my father died from Colon Cancer. Am beginning to suspect that they all had undiagnosed Celiac Disease from early on that progressed to these devastating conditions.

As for Michael Fox's Parkinson's disease, wasn't he a spokesman for DIET PEPSI (contains aspartame)? Assuming he must've drunk a lot of that noxious substance over the years, and aspartame has been proven to cause nerve damage (as well as damage to retina and many other health problems).