Researchers (Marios Hadjivassiliou, Dasappaiah G Rao, Richard A Grìnewald, Daniel P Aeschlimann, Ptolemaios G Sarrigiannis, Nigel Hoggard, Pascale Aeschlimann, Peter D Mooney and David S Sanders) recently compared clinical, neurophysiological, and imaging data of patients with Celiac Disease (CD) and Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) who presented with neurological dysfunction (such as cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neurophathy, and encephalopathy).
Patients were followed up regularly over a period of twenty years. “Out of 700 patients, 562 were included. Exclusion criteria included no bowel biopsy to confirm CD, no HLA type available, and failure to adhere to GFD. All patients presented with neurological dysfunction and had circulating anti-gliadin antibodies. Out of 562 patients, 228 (41%) had evidence of enteropathy (Group 1, CD) and 334 (59%) did not (Group 2, NCGS). The most common neurological manifestations were cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, and encephalopathy. There was a greater proportion of patients with encephalopathy in Group 1 and with a greater proportion of neuropathy in Group 2. The severity of ataxia did not differ between the two groups. Patients in Group 1 had more severe neuropathy. All patients from both groups responded to gluten-free diet. Anti-tissue transglutaminase (TG2) antibodies were found in 91% of patients in Group 1 and in 29% of patients in Group 2. Comparison between those patients in Group 2 with HLA-DQ2/DQ8 and those without as well as those with positive TG2 compared with those with negative TG2 antibodies identified no differences within these subgroups. Serological positivity for TG6 antibodies was similar in the two groups (67 and 60%).”, as featured in February 2, 2016 American Journal of Gastroenterology article/Nature.com
Researchers concluded that the neurological manifestations of CD and NCGS are similar and equally responsive to a gluten-free diet, which is suggestive of common pathophysiological mechanisms.
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