Celiac Disease and Reversible Memory Loss

Puzzle and Brain Games

October 17th, 2006 |

Most forms of dementia are not very treatable or reversible. For example, there is not much you can really do for patients with Alzheimer’s disease or multi-infarct dementia when it comes to reversing the memory loss and cognitive decline.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalous and Celiac disease, however, are two fairly common reversible dementias frequently misdiagnosed and overlooked.

Celiac disease affects about 1 in 133 people (reference: webmd). About 10% of these patients will develop nervous system involvement. Previously, not much has been published linking celiac disease to memory decline and dementia, so most neurologists and primary care doctors will have never made the connection. Recently, however, new research from the Mayo Clinic has come out describing many such cases. Patients affected were as young as 45 and as old as 79.

Importantly, celiac disease is quite easy to treat. The disease is thought to result from an abnormal immune response to gluten, which is found in products containing wheat, barley and rye. This abnormal immune response is thought to attack and degrade the brain. So the treatment is to merely cut these types of food out of your diet. In those neurological patients affected, the dementia tends to clear quite rapidly.

If you or a family member is developing brain decline, make sure your neurologist or primary care doctor has considered celiac disease as a potential diagnosis.

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Filed under: Alzheimers, Brain, Brain Busters, Brain Food, Dementia, Memory Loss, Smartkit All Posts Post tags: celiac-disease, cognitive-decline, gluten, multi-infarct-dementia

6 Responses to “Celiac Disease and Reversible Memory Loss”

Wendy T | Guest April 27th, 2007 - 1:42 pm

“Importantly, celiac disease is quite easy to treat.”

As someone diagnosed with Celiac and living in the United States, I can say that this is not an accurate statement. The dietary chances required to remain Gluten Free is very difficult. However, there are support groups, lists, and websites that can help.

Don’t fool yourself, it’s not easy to be gluten free… but for an improved quality of life, it’s really worth it.
Dr. R.L. Kaplan | Profile (beta) April 27th, 2007 - 5:34 pm

Hi Wendy, by ‘easy to treat’ , I meant no need to use extremely toxic or expensive medications.

Sticking to a healthy diet is definitely a challenge for the majority of people (myself included!)
Traumatic Brain Injury | Guest May 10th, 2007 - 1:13 pm

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julie | Guest July 5th, 2007 - 5:53 pm

My father is at present dying from what has only recently been suggested maybe having a gluten alergy. He proved positive in a blood test to be Celiac but not from a biopsy (but this was taken after he was on Gluten free food!!). We have spent the last 18 months watching him deteriate and he now has lost the abilty to communicate with us. He has had many. many test done and has alos spent time in Oxford Neuro hospital with still no diagnosis.
My worry is (apart from my prro Dad) - is that my daughters both have wheat alergies and although it has been proven by blood tests that they are not celiac, they both keep having nasty attacks and I’m concerned they should be on a gluten free diet.
Could someone PLEASE give me advise as I’m not getting anywhere>
Thank you
Wendy | Guest July 6th, 2007 - 1:32 pm

I’m not sure what you mean by attacks?
A lot of neurological disorders associated with Celiac patients have to do with the undernourishment that results from the Celiac reaction. B12, for example (a deficiency I had before being diagnosed with celiac) can cause brain damage and memory loss, and in extreme cases, dementia and death. I was told when this deficiency was found (after years of being treated for ADHD instead of Pernicious Anemia) that most American doctors don’t test for it because most Americans eat enough meat to get it from our food.
My daughter was “proven not celiac” with blood tests, but when I questioned the doctor, he said that there are two blood tests he ran, one came out negative, the other positive… therefore, the test was really inconclusive… not negative as I was initially told. Check on that. Terminology makes all the difference sometimes.
Jim | Guest September 25th, 2007 - 6:46 pm

I am 38, I have Celiac’s, and I have neurologic damage from Celiac’s that is NOT related to B12 deficiency. While I appreciate that a good portion of the neurologic damage is, in fact, related to nutritional deficiency, not all of it is. There’s some theory that the same autoimmune responses involved in the changes to the gut and the skin are probably involved in changes to nerve and brain tissues as well.

Anyway …

The three blood tests are a gliadin antibody, an antiendomysial antibody, and a tissue transglutanimase antibody. Wendy is right that terminology makes a great difference, though, and if a doctor says that someone is proven not to have celiac by blood tests, it’s often good to ask which tests were done - especially if a family history is present already. Just my $.02.