<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

The following quotes are from a medical review article called “Celiac
Disease.  Going Against the Grains” by M. Pietzak, C. Catassi, S. Drago, F.
Fornaroli, A.  Fasano.  Nutrition in Clinical Practice: 12/01; 16: 335-344.:
  “Patients with CD are 20 times more likely than the general population to
have epilepsy and often have associated cerebral and cerebellar
calcifications imaged by CT and MRI.  Depression, dementia, and
schizophrenia are all also common in persons with untreated CD.  Cerebellar
degeneration with resulting ataxia (“gluten-associated ataxia”) is a known
entity in Europe, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is currently
recruiting subjects with ataxia to examine them for gluten sensitivity and
CD.  Focal white matter lesions in the brain recently have been reported to
occur in children with CD and are thought to be either ischemic in origin as
a result of vasculitis or caused by inflammatory demyelination.  Parents of
children with CD have reported behavioral changes such as irritability,
separation anxiety, emotional withdrawal, and autistic-like behaviors that
all seemed to improve on a GFD.  Although not scientifically validated, the
GFD is now also being advocated for children with autism by several groups.
Whether or not children with autism are at  a higher risk for CD or celiac
children have a  higher incidence of autism remains to be proven.  However,
children with Down syndrome, who often have autistic-like behaviors, are at
higher risk for CD.  It has been hypothesized that gluten may be broken down
into small peptides that may cross the blood-brain barrier and interact with
morphine receptors, leading to alterations in conduct and perceptions of
reality.”

Laura



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