Ubo's, Epilepsy And Celiac

[ravenwoodglass]

As someone who was told that their UBO, unidentified bright object, or brain white matter lesions were of no significance during my diagnostic process I thought it would be a good idea to post this article. Many US doctors consider these lesions to be harmless but other research shows otherwise. I got this from www.pubmed.gov

Brain white-matter lesions in celiac disease: a prospective study of 75 diet-treated patients.

Kieslich M, Errazuriz G, Posselt HG, Moeller-Hartmann W, Zanella F, Boehles H.

Department of Pediatrics, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. mkieslich@zki.uni-frankfurt.de

OBJECTIVE: Celiac disease (celiac disease), or gluten sensitivity, is considered to be a state of heightened immunologic responsiveness to ingested gluten proteins in genetically predisposed individuals. The gastrointestinal manifestation suggests a severe enteropathy of the small intestine with malabsorption, steatorrhea, and weight loss because of a deranged mucosal immune response. Neurologic complications occur, especially epilepsy, possibly associated with occipital calcifications or folate deficiency and cerebellar ataxia. There have been reports of brain white-matter lesions as an extraintestinal manifestation in Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis but not in celiac disease. METHODS: In this study, 75 diet-treated mainly pediatric patients with biopsy-proven celiac disease underwent prospectively clinical neurologic examinations, laboratory investigations, electroencephalography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. The age range was 2.8 to 24.2 years with a mean of 11.6 years. The mean period of gluten exposure was 2.4 years. RESULTS: Ten patients had neurologic findings such as febrile seizures, single generalized seizures, mild ataxia, and muscular hypotonia with retarded motor development. No folate deficiency was found. The hippocampal regions showed no abnormalities. Computed tomography did not reveal any cerebral calcifications, but magnetic resonance imaging detected unilateral and bilateral T2-hyperintensive white-matter lesions in 15 patients (20%). There was no correlation between these lesions and dietary compliance or neurologic or electroencephalographic abnormalities. The mean gluten exposure time of these patients was slightly increased (not significant). CONCLUSIONS: Focal white-matter lesions in the brain may represent an extraintestinal manifestation of celiac disease. They may be ischemic in origin as a result of a vasculitis or caused by inflammatory demyelination. They seem to be more typical of pediatric celiac disease than cerebral calcifications. Their prognostic value is unclear and needs to be elucidated in additional studies. celiac disease should be suggested as a differential diagnosis in children with unclear white-matter lesions even without intestinal symptoms.

[2kids4me]

This is the same article with the full text is available at the link provided. I found it interesting too, esp since my daughter had severe migraines - she would stagger down the hall and beg me to turn out the lights - only they were already off! gluten-free diet stopped the migraines.

.....It often is associated with the presence of antiendomysial and antigliadin antibodies. The pathologic mucosal immune response has a background of genetic susceptibility. Investigations showed that 70% to 100% of monozygotic twins and 10% of first-degree relatives are concordant for the disease. There is a strong genetic association with the human leukocyte antigen types DQ8 and DQ2 (DQA1 0501 and QQB1 0201 arranged either in cis or trans). Neurologic complications occur in approximately 8% to 10% of adults with celiac disease. These include epilepsy, associated particularly with occipital calcifications and folate deficiency; cerebellar ataxia; peripheral neuropathy; myositis; neuromyotonia; myasthenic syndrome; myelopathy; and dementia accompanied by brain atrophy in adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the spectrum, incidence, and risk factors of neurologic involvement of celiac disease in a mainly pediatric cohort.

Brain White-Matter Lesions in Celiac Disease: A Prospective Study of 75 Diet-Treated Patients

Matthias Kieslich, MD*, Germán Errázuriz, MD*, Hans Georg Posselt, MD*, Walter Moeller-Hartmann, MD, and Hansjosef Boehles, MD*

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