<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
>Julie, I suspect that a number of us on the list would like to know more
>about the article on ADHD and gluten that you mentioned. Can you post
>information so we can locate it?
As the one that was posting to the ADD group I'll post here some of what I
posted there. On Friday I posted five articles to various threads. They
mostly contained things that I had posted previously to the list, e.g. the
Canadian survey of symptoms, plus a list of other related disorders, plus a
list of other symptoms taken from the CSA/USA flyer entitled "Celiac Sprue".
Also included in some were the paragraphs below by Joe Murray on getting
diagnosed.
On Saturday I posted the following:
[Prior followed post snipped. It was touting the benefits of Ritalin and
flaming a pharmacist for questioning all the Ritalin prescriptions he was
writing.]
Ritalin and Dexedrine may be correcting the symptons of ADD but they are
*not* addressing its causes. A diagnosis of ADD is a catch-all used when the
doctor is unable to determine the real underlying disease. Also it is an
easy solution.
Celiac Disease (gluten-intolerance), which is common among people of
northern European descent, has many symptoms. Among them is all the symptoms
that you ADD sufferers describe.
An undiagnosed gluten intolerant person is at increased risk for *dozens* of
secondary conditions, a couple fatal, but all related to the damage to the
villi that line the small intestine, and the subsequent malabsorbtion of
*fat* soluble minerals and vitamins. For example, lymphoma in the small
intestine is extremely rare in the general population. Untreated celiacs
have a 70 to 80 times greater chance of developing lymphoma. A lifetime of
not following the gluten-free diet gives a celiac about a 7% chance of
developing lymphoma.
Here are some things to back up my claim:
(1) The following is taken from the "Celiac Sprue" flyer from CSA/USA (Box
31700, Omaha, NE 68131 402-558-0600):
"...; personality changes (especially common in children with sprue; they
become unable to concentrate, are irritable, cranky, and have difficulties
with mental alertness and memory function); can also occur in adults; ..."
(2) The following is from the February 1995 Sprue-nik Press newsletter. It
included Misc. Highlights from the 1994 American Celiac Society Conference.
"Question (to Alessio Fasano, Pediatric Gastroenterologist, University of
Maryland): Is there an association between celiac disease and attention
deficit or hyperactivity in children? Yes, but only for untreated celiacs.
Once the child goes on a gluten-free diet, these problems tend to disappear.
A related question: Is there a link between behavioral problems and celiac
disease in children? Once again, the answer is yes, but only for untreated
celiacs. It is the malnutrition that leads to the problem."
(3) From Gluten Intolerance Group - "Gluten-Sensitive Enteropathy: Up-Date
for Health Care Professionals" May, 1992:
"Behavioral changes - such as irritability and inability to concentrate, may
be reported in undiagnosed children. Adults often relate difficulties in
short-term memory and concentration...."
(4) From Coeliac Disease, by Michael Marsh, Blackwell Scientific
Publications, November 1992. - Chapter 2 (by Jacques Schmitz) - p.30 - "The
effects of the gluten-free diet are most often spectacular, particularly in
toddlers. Behavioural disorders are the first to subside..."
(5) Marsh's book again - Chapter 3 - on CD in adults, written by Peter
Howdle and Monty S. Losowsky. p. 55 - "Psychological changes have also been
widely investigated, but are difficult to quantify. Many patients appear to
be depressed, while others are irritable, morose or difficult to relate
to... Nevertheless, in some case reports, treatment with a gluten-free diet
has resulted in spectacular improvements in mental function."
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The following is excerpted from an article by Joseph A. Murray, M.D.,
University of Iowa <[log in to unmask]> that was published in the
American Celiac Society newsletter:
Those patients for whom there is a high suspicion for celiac disease should
have a small bowel biopsy which can be obtained by an experienced
endoscopist in the distal duodendum.
The best noninvasive tests available for screening for asymptomatic celiac
disease are the specific serological tests. These are of several varieties -
the anti-gliadin, anti-endomysial, or anti-reticulin antibodies. Our
experience and the literature support the use as of endomysial antibody test
as the single most specific and probably most sensitive for celiac disease.
This test has now become available in specialty laboratories as well as in a
small number of academic institutions. All of the tests should be done with
the subjects on a normal gluten containing diet. A combination of endomysial
and gliadin testing would seem to be the most sensitive as a screening
method. A positive test is not, however, considered to be diagnostic and
would usually require a small bowel biopsy for confirmation. A trial of
dietary exclusion of gluten is *not* recommended as a diagnostic test
without a prior abnormal biopsy.
Because the body will recover when one goes gluten-free, the tests will then
come up negative. Without a definitive test one may then stray from the
diet, as one will feel well and was never sure that they had it in the first
place.
As for the two tests: The biopsy will look for flattened villi on the
intestinal wall. After one goes GF they will grow back. The blood antibodies
are formed as a body's reaction to the presence of the gluten. If no gluten,
then no antibodies are present.
____________________________________________________________________________
There is celiac mailing list at: [log in to unmask] with 425+
members. To join, send a message to the listserv with SUB CELIAC
yourfirstname yourlastname in the body of the message.
[end of post]
============================================================================
I feel strongly about this issue as I was an undiagnosed celiac from 3 - 40
years of age. Every ADD symptom that I've read about in that newsgroup
(alt.support.attn-deficit) I had when I was growing up.
The above post has produced six follow-up posts, some flaming me, some
supporting me, some a little of both.
Don Wiss
[log in to unmask]
New York City
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