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“Gluten intolerance/celiac runs in my family. My brother started to get seizures about a year ago. He goes in to where he feels like he's in a tunnel and voices echo. He is reluctant to think that it might be caused by gluten. Could gluten be causing his seizures?” Susan.
My Reply: This is an extract from my book “Full Of It! The shocking truth about gluten" "Epilepsy is a brain condition. It is the spontaneous discharge of electrical activity in the brain. This causes a sudden change in behaviour or motor activity. The symptoms and signs depend upon where in the brain this abnormal activity is occurring. In the general population, about one in every fifty people has some sort of experience of epileptic seizures. Yet again, there is an association between coeliac disease and epilepsy, although this does not seem to be very strong. A higher prevalence of epilepsy (3.5–5.5%) has been reported in patients with coeliac disease compared with controls (2%). Also, high IgG-gliadin antibody levels are more prevalent in patients with primary generalized epilepsy (19.6%) than in the reference population (10.6%) (Ranua, 2005). Gluten-sensitivity is linked to epilepsy In addition, the specific condition “bilateral occipital cerebral calcification and seizures” has been more strongly associated with coeliac disease (Visakorpi, 1970). However, this syndrome seems to be rare. In one study (Fois, 1994), 783 children who presented with seizures were investigated for coeliac disease: there were nine children discovered with partial and/or grand mal seizures. Of these, only three (0.3%) had cerebral calcification. The effect of a gluten-free diet on epilepsy control in coeliac disease has been variable. In most patients the beneficial effects of the diet have been reported in terms of better seizure control and a decrease in the amounts of antiepileptic medications – but not the resolution of their seizures. Perhaps, the earlier the diagnosis and treatment with a gluten-free diet, the better the outcome. " In my opinion, all children with epilepsy should be investigated for evidence of gluten-sensitivity. Cheers, Dr Rodney Ford. |
