The high frequency of coeliac disease among children with neurological disorders

In the present study we have explored antigliadin (AGA) and antireticulin ( ARA) antibody tests for the serological screening for coeliac disease (CD) of 206 children with neurological disorders. IgA- or/and IgG-type AGA was d iscovered in 17 (8.3%) patients and IgA-type ARA in one (0.5%) patient. A s mall intestinal biopsy was performed in all 18 antibody-positive patients, and villous atrophy compatible with CD was revealed in three cases (patient s with either epilepsy retardation of psychomotor development or Down's syn drome). The CD prevalence rate of 14.6 per 1000 (95% CI 7.0-22.2) found in the present study was higher than could have been anticipated on the basis of the results of our previous population studies, which indicate that CD o ccurs more frequently among children with neurological disorders (OR = 37.6 ; 95% CI 9.7-146.9). Whether this finding reflects certain immunopathogenic links between CD and particular neurological diseases needs to be studied further. In this study, we were unable, using indirect immunofluorescence t esting, to demonstrate the presence of autoantibodies against brain tissue in CD and AGA-positive patients.