<<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." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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