Gluten sensitivity in multiple sclerosis: experimental myth or clinical truth?

Patients with neurological disease of unknown etiology sometimes present with antigliadin and antitissue transglutaminase antibodies. The association between these antibodies and multiple sclerosis has been previously suggested. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of these anti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2009-09, Vol.1173 (1), p.343-349
Main Authors: Shor, Dana Ben-Ami, Barzilai, Ori, Ram, Maya, Izhaky, David, Porat-Katz, Bat Sheva, Chapman, Joab, Blank, Miri, Anaya, Juan-Manuel, Shoenfeld, Yehuda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Autoantibodies - blood
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Gliadin - immunology
Glutens - immunology
Humans
Immunoassay - methods
Immunoglobulin A - blood
Immunoglobulin G - blood
Male
Middle Aged
Multiple Sclerosis - blood
Multiple Sclerosis - immunology
Transglutaminases - immunology
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Summary:Patients with neurological disease of unknown etiology sometimes present with antigliadin and antitissue transglutaminase antibodies. The association between these antibodies and multiple sclerosis has been previously suggested. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of these antibodies in multiple sclerosis patients. We determined the level of serum immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G antigliadin and antitissue transglutaminase antibodies in 98 patients with multiple sclerosis. We found a highly significant increase in titers of immunoglobulin G antibodies against gliadin and tissue transglutaminase in the multiple sclerosis patients. Seven patients had a positive IgG AGA, whereas only 2 controls presented positive titers (P = 0.03). Four patients had positive IgG anti-tTG while all the controls tested negative (P = 0.02). However, immunoglobulin A antibodies against gliadin and tissue transglutaminase were not statistically higher in the multiple sclerosis group in comparison to the control group. Our findings support the associations between antibodies against gliadin and tissue transglutaminase to multiple sclerosis. The specific role of these antibodies in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis remains uncertain and requires additional research. A gluten free diet should be considered in specific cases of patients who present with gluten antibodies.
ISSN:0077-8923
1749-6632
DOI:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04620.x