Does Anyone Know The Relationship Between Epilepsy And Celiac Disease?

[TammyK]

The Science behind it? Have you heard of seizures as a Celiac Disease symptom???

[Ursa Major]

I have heard of lots of people who had seizures as a celiac disease symptom, and never had another seizure after going gluten-free, unless glutened.

Gliadin effects the brain, and can cause all kinds of neurological problems, including seizures.

[cymrudenver]

I was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child, was on medication for 10 years. I wonder now if I ever really had it. My seizure activity disapeared after I left home and wasn't having bread with every meal.

[TammyK]

Gliadin effects the brain, and can cause all kinds of neurological problems, including seizures.

Ursa Major

I know I have read about this but still don't know. What is Gliadin again? I have heard that seizures result from the build up of glutamate and asparate in the brain. That normally, healthy intestines produce the necessary enzymes to break them down. So many thoughts out there.

Thank you Ursa.

[gfpaperdoll]

Hi, I am not Ursa, but I am a fan of hers, does that count???

Gliadin, I believe is the protein in the wheat that gives us all the problem.

Open Original Shared Link here is one of my favorite sites for information on glutamates. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen & you will see the pictures of food & the amount of glutamates. You will also see that manufacuring these foods into another form can hugely increase the amount of glutamates.

I think this is why most people that cannot tolerate gluten also cannot tolerate dairy & soy.

I love the part where it explains why I have a huge problem with "natural flavor" because it is really MSG! I have a long bad history with MSG. To get a nice clean label the food companies are now listing "natural flavor", bacause you know the public knows that MSG is bad for you. The average person might not know anything about nutrition, but they do know that MSG is bad. I now drop it like a hot wheaty roll, if it says natural flavor.

here is some scoop on Gliadin from wikipedia:

"Gliadin is a glycoprotein present in wheat and several other cereals within the grass genus Triticum. Gliadins are prolamins and are separated on the basis of electrophoretic mobility and isoelectric focusing.

Types

α-/β-gliadins - soluble in low percentage alcohols.

γ-gliadins - ancestral form of cysteine-rich gliadin with only intrachain disulfide bridges

ω-gliadins - soluble in higher percentages, 30

[TammyK]

From what I have read & from people that post to other forums & based on my sister that should be gluten-free but is not & does have seizures, It is my opinion that anyone with seizures should not be eating gluten grains, dairy, & soy. I also think they should be mostly grain free. I also think that they should be sugar substitute free & I mean all sugar substitutes & even that agave stuff. I only believe that honey & 100% maple syrup is good for you & maybe sugar in small amounts - I for one have never given up sugar - & do not plan to unless forced into it. I also think that they should be corn syrup free, chemical free & artificial color free. (no M&M's for me)

I will say that some people are very sensitive & there is a lady on another board that will get a seizure from eating farm raised salmon that is fed grains. She is otherwise seizure free from diet control & off all meds.

~gfpaperdoll~

Yep, it counts that you are a fan of Ursa's. Glad to hear from anyone. I think you and I have talked on a differnt thread.

You have diagnosed correctly. I am steering clear from wheat, artifical sweetners, MSG, nitrites, perservatives, chemicals and dairy with my dd. All of shown reactions of different sorts. As for soy, I have cheated on this one a few times through the coffee drive thru. Haven't noticed reaction though. I have read much on www.dogtorJ.com. He is vet who treats epileptic dogs with diet with a 1oo% sucess rate. Very interesting reading on his site!! Many of your conclusions would be affirmed in his papers. He narrows all of today's health problems on wheat and diary.

Oh, and wouldn't you know my daughter has Asthma too. Seems to settling down when gluten-free.

Would a gluten-free diet be considered a "grain free" diet? I used potato, tapioca, rice, sorghum, corn flours. She is so much happier with some bread and treats. She does eat corn products. Haven't had the reason or resolve yet to eliminate that one. Ugh. We love corn chips in this house. I would respond quickly if I was to see a reaction though.

Tried her on barely 3 times this week and she is doing fine. Wheat would show a reaction in the same day. ???? Is gliadin NOT in barely then?

Appreciate all you who know so much! I've been studying hard but it just takes time. Thanks for the website.

[happygirl]

go to pubmed.gov and search 'celiac epilepsy' These are just a few.

Pract Neurol. 2008 Apr;8(2):77-89. Links

Neurological complications of coeliac disease: what is the evidence?Grossman G.

Clinical Trials Unit, Neurological Institute, Lakeside 3200, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. gerald.grossman@uhhospitals.org

Coeliac disease is a chronic immune-mediated disorder that primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract. There is an inflammatory response in the intestine to the ingestion of gluten which improves with a gluten-free diet. Many patients, especially adults, may be asymptomatic or have only extraintestinal symptoms at onset without any of the classical coeliac symptoms. In the last two decades there have been increasing numbers of reports describing neurological complications of coeliac disease, especially ataxia, peripheral neuropathy and epilepsy. This literature has become quite controversial, with disputes over the definition of coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity, whether neurological complications are caused by coeliac disease or are epiphenomena, and whether the proposed complications respond to a gluten-free diet. This review uses an evidence-based approach to critically assess this literature and provides guidelines for the evaluation and management of these patients.

Pediatr Neurol. 2007 Mar;36(3):165-9. Links

Increased prevalence of silent celiac disease among Greek epileptic children.Antigoni M, Xinias I, Theodouli P, Karatza E, Maria F, Panteliadis C, Spiroglou K.

3rd Pediatric Clinic, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Medical School, Hippocration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Celiac disease is an immune-mediated enteropathy triggered by the ingestion of gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. Many reports mention the association between epilepsy and celiac disease and the occasional presence of occipital corticosubcortical calcifications. We investigated 255 children with idiopathic epilepsy. Evaluation included use of routine, easily obtainable studies. Patients were screened for immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG) antigliadin antibodies and immunoglobulin A antitissue transglutaminase antibodies. Moreover, presence of IgA antiendomysial and antireticulin antibodies was screened. Patients with positive IgA antigliadin antibodies underwent a small intestinal biopsy. Controls consisted of 280 healthy children. Intestinal histopathologic changes, positive IgA antigliadin antibodies or IgG antigliadin antibodies, antireticulin antibodies, and antitissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies were found in five epileptic children but not in control subjects (P = 0.0241). Intracranial calcifications were not found in epileptic children with celiac disease. The findings indicate that prevalence of silent celiac disease is increased among children with idiopathic epilepsy; the type of epilepsy does not appear to play a role. Serum antitissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies could be a good marker for celiac disease screening. Occipital corticosubcortical calcifications are rarer in children with celiac disease and epilepsy.

Neurology. 2007 Feb 13;68(7):533-4. Links

Occult celiac disease presenting as epilepsy and MRI changes that responded to gluten-free diet.Harper E, Moses H, Lagrange A.

Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232-8552, USA.

Neurologist. 2006 Nov;12(6):318-21. Links

Epilepsy and celiac disease: favorable outcome with a gluten-free diet in a patient refractory to antiepileptic drugs.Canales P, Mery VP, Larrondo FJ, Bravo FL, Godoy J.

Department of Neurology, Hospital Regional de Talca, Talca, Chile. kikimery@gmail.com

BACKGROUND: There is a well-documented relationship between epilepsy and celiac disease, including a syndrome characterized by epilepsy, occipital calcifications, and celiac disease. REVIEW SUMMARY: We report the case of a 23-year-old woman with an 11-year history of refractory epileptic seizures and newly diagnosed biopsy-proven celiac disease with increased antiendomysium immunoglobulin A antibodies. The patient showed a dramatic improvement after starting a gluten-free diet. CONCLUSION: This case emphasizes the need to include celiac disease in the differential diagnosis when investigating the etiology of epilepsy in refractory patients.

PMID: 17122729 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[gfpaperdoll]

yes, I love dogtorj & I agree with all his writings - too bad he is treating dogs & not kids - but I am sure he is healping many people...

quote from your thread:

"Would a gluten-free diet be considered a "grain free" diet? I used potato, tapioca, rice, sorghum, corn flours. She is so much happier with some bread and treats. She does eat corn products. Haven't had the reason or resolve yet to eliminate that one. Ugh. We love corn chips in this house. I would respond quickly if I was to see a reaction though."

well, sometimes I stetch the grain free thought... I do eat the occasional corn chips, & corn tortillas, & make corn bread. Yes, I think we all need some treats. I think that kids do better with these grains than an older person like me. I have a problem with tapioca - watch it, because I have read of others that also cannot tolerate it. I love sorghum & it gives a great texture especially with tapioca - which I do not use, but I do use coconut flour & white corn meal. Surprisingly a little white corn meal is not noticable in cookies etc. I currently have a problem with rice, so only have it occasionally if eating out. Although I have bought some organic rice - but not tried it yet. I am allergic to potatoes & do not react well to the potato flour, but it is good mixed with the sorghum. I also love corn flour but cannot tolerate the cross contamination from a common brand at Whole Foods. So I have just been using some fine white corn meal... I have never cooked with rice flour as I hate the taste & texture. I have used sweet rice flour at one time - it was much better & not gritty.

I would say that the white corn tortillas are probably healthier than the rice breads etc - I tend to not think of corn as a grain - & think that it is the healthiest for us - but not all corn is created equal. I cannot tolerate canned corn but do fine with fresh corn. Also, I am allergic to mannitol, which I think is derived from corn. But some people have a major problem with all corn.

For popcorn I use white popcorn & find that I do a lot better with it than the yellow. I do not like the microwave stuff - skip the chemicals & the fumes from the plastic etc.

Also, I think that it is very important to NEVER heat anything in the microwave in plastic or to use plastic wrap in the microwave. I am 61 & I have never heated anything in the microwave in plastic. Even my DIL knows that if it is heated in plastic that I am not eating it. I freeze my food in glass pyrex bowls with plastic lids that can go directly to the microwave minus the lid & get covered with a glass plate to heat up. Some medical officios have recently come out with guidelines outlining the bad things about heating food up in the microwave in plastic. a little late if you ask me...

So yes I love all the above stuff, just be aware how much of it you are eating. It is good to have most meals with no grains. I never thought I would say this but now I even love my stir frys with no rice.

oh there are some awesome chocolate cookies made with egg whites & powered sugar & nuts & no flour that was in our paper recently - someone at my office made them & they were fantastic. I put the recipe in my file. If you want it - PM me because sometimes I do not follow threads - I forget stuff I posted or even where I posted it!!

oh yes & OMG do not give her barley, it is a gluten grain & she can get a very very bad reaction from it. I happen to have been allergic to barley (&oats) since I was 25. Which prevented me from eating any bought wheaty goodie. So of course I became an expert baker. No bagels - no problem, I just made my own

Some people can tell what they were glutened with as it gives a different reaction for each food. Barley will leave a nasty metallic taste in my mouth for about two weeks, in addition to other stuff that I have mostly forgotten because it has been so long since I got barleyed!!!