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Hi to all;
Sorry it took so long to get back to the list but the current flu bug got
the better of me. The following summarizes the responses I received to my
inquiry; "...does a GF diet have, in some fashion, a cause and effect
relationship to neurological disease?" (in my case Parkinson Disease (PD)):

1. Although none of the responses noted what could be termed a definitive
causal    link between the GF diet of a celiac and PD, many felt there may
very well be    one to not only PD but possibly MS as well.  I know of no
studies that have    addressed this area.

2. Numerous responses felt that dietary supplements could be of importance;
specifically copper which is in an enzyme called dopamine hydroxylase,
antioxidants, calcium, vitamins, lecithin, and other trace minerals.

3. It is believed that CD, without proper nutrition, can cause neurological
deficiencies due to malabsorbtion of nutrients.  This would relate back to
item 2.

4. A few responses noted cases of CD and PD, and perhaps MS as well, within
the    family structure, indicative of an inherited disease.  In most
occurances       however, CD appeared in one generation and PD in another.
Fewer occurances    of both diseases in the same individual were noted but
even then in some    cases CD was diagnosed first and PD came later and in
others the reverse was    true.  This could perhaps be due to the relatively
slow on set of either    disease as well as the multiple effects each may
present which were not    recognized in the past.

5. One responder raised the interesting question of whether a gluten    (or
possibly casein) intolerance and endomysial antibodies are somehow
involved in CD and PD.  The reasoning being that it doesn't seem to make
sense that such antibodies would bind with endomysial tissue in a damaged
intestine and not with endomysial tissue elsewhere in the body where there
has been a tissue damaging event.

Thanks to all of you who responded.  It has provided a lot of food for
thought as well as encouragement in knowing that others have perhaps
wondered about a CD(and the GF diet)/Neurological disease relationship as
well.  I would appreciate hearing of any new developments that come along.
John