RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Celiac disease, brain atrophy, and dementia
JF Neurology
JO Neurology
FD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
SP 372
OP 372
DO 10.1212/WNL.41.3.372
VO 41
IS 3
A1 P. Collin
A1 T. Pirttila
A1 T. Nurmikko
A1 H. Somer
A1 T. Erila
A1 O. Keyrilainen
YR 1991
UL http://n.neurology.org/content/41/3/372.abstract
AB We report 5 patients who developed dementia before age 60 and were subsequently found to have celiac disease (CD). Intellectual deterioration ranged from moderate to severe, and diffuse cerebral or cerebellar atrophy was found on brain CT. Diagnosis of CD was confirmed by findings of subtotal villous atrophy in jejunal biopsy specimens and positive serum reticulin and gliadin antibodies. Conspicuously, gastrointestinal symptoms were mild. The gluten-free diet failed to improve the neurologic disability except in 1 patient. CD is a multisystem disorder and may play a role in some cases of presenile dementia. Although the pathogenetic mechanisms are obscure, immunologic mechanisms are implicated