CELIAC-DISEASE WITH CEREBRAL CALCIUM AND SILICA DEPOSITS - X-RAY SPECTROSCOPIC FINDINGS, AN AUTOPSY STUDY

An increased incidence of seizures and cerebral calcifications, usuall y bilateral and located in the occipital cortex, has been reported in celiac patients. The histology of cerebral lesions is not well defined , and their pathogenesis is only speculative. We report the autopsy re sults of a patient with celiac disease, seizures, and cerebral calcifi cations who died following a cerebral hemorrhage caused by Fisher-Evan s syndrome. Calcifications were restricted to the cortical gray matter and composed of aggregates of small calcified spicules. Calcium depos ition was present as psammoma-like bodies, along small vessels, and wi thin neurons. X-ray spectroscopy of the calcified areas revealed that calcium (43%) and silica (57%) were present in the lesions. High silic a content was also found in the cerebral hemorrhagic fluid. Silica tox icity has to be considered in regard to the pathogenesis of the cerebr al lesions and of the seizures.