EPILEPSY, CEREBRAL CALCIFICATIONS AND CLINICAL OR SUBCLINICAL CELIAC-DISEASE - COURSE AND FOLLOW-UP WITH GLUTEN-FREE DIET

We have studied four patients (three male, one female, age range 15-25 years) with epilepsy, bilateral occipital calcifications and latent c oeliac disease (CD). The epilepsy started at mean age 7 years, in thre e cases there were partial seizures and in one case generalized seizur e. Three cases had symptoms suggesting malabsorptive syndrome during i nfancy and one case was diagnosed CD before the onset of seizures. In all cases serologic markers of CD were found, especially antiendomisiu m antibody, and intestinal biopsy indicated several grades of atrophy. The electroencephalograph (EEG) findings pointed to focal abnormaliti es in three patients and generalized abnormalities in one patient. In all cases computer tomography (CT) showed bilateral, almost symmetrica l occipital calcifications in the cortical subcortical layers. The enh anced CT were unremarkable and magnetic resonance images (MRI) were no rmal. After diagnosis of CD, all patients followed a gluten-free diet and in three patients a significant reduction in seizure frequency was observed. CD should be ruled out in all cases of epilepsy, cerebral c alcifications of unexplained origin and malabsorption syndrome in infa ncy.