Anti-Gluten Antibodies Are Common in Sporadic Ataxia (WCN 2001)

Subject: Anti-Gluten Antibodies Are Common in Sporadic Ataxia (WCN 2001)

Date: 6/27/2001

E-MOVE reports from the 17th World Congress of Neurology, London, June 17-22. Poster and Platform session numbers refer to those in the abstract book, published in Journal of the Neurological Sciences 2001;187 (supplement 1).

Causes of cerebellar degeneration: Gluten ataxia in perspective
M Hadjivassiliou, RA Grunewald, GAB Davies-Jones
P1527

Antibodies against gluten are common in sporadic, but not familial, ataxia, according to this study.

Two-hundred-one patients with ataxia underwent genetic and antibody testing. Of the 58 with familial ataxia, 34 had autosomal dominant inheritance, with 7 of these identified as SCA-2, -6, or -7, and 27 with no identifiable gene mutation. Twenty-four had autosomal recessive inheritance, with 12 identified as Friedreich's ataxia and 12 with no identifiable gene mutation. Within this group of 58, the anti-gliadin antibody prevalence was 12%, equal to that found in healthy controls. Of the 143 patients with idiopathic sporadic ataxia, 28 had probably MSA, and 14% of these were anti-gliadin-positive. Of the final 115 patients with non-familial, non-MSA ataxia, anti-gliadin antibodies were found in 41%.

Funding for E-MOVE meeting reports is provided in part by unrestricted educational grants from Allergan Inc., Elan Pharmaceuticals, and Pharmacia Corporation.

E-MOVE Editor: Richard Robinson, NASW, WE MOVE

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