Scientists in a new Swedish-based study have linked the increased risks for developing neuropathy to patients with celiac disease; and while celiac can be fatal if untreated in some patients, the double likelihood of developing neuropathy makes it equally bad for nerve damage.
Celiac disease is a digestive disorder in children and adults which is characterized by the inability to tolerate wheat protein or gluten. Sometimes it is accompanied by lactose intolerance. It is largely an auto-immune disease that causes a sensitivity of the linings of the small intestine to gluten causing great difficulty in digesting food intakes. Its symptoms include foul-smelling diarrhea and emaciation.
According to the study published in the Jama Neurology journal, "Given the autoimmune nature of celiac disease, our data reinforce the potential role of immunologic mechanisms for the development of neuropathy."
The researchers said there was also "a bidirectional association between celiac disease and neuropathy, since patients with neuropathy were also at increased risk of future celiac disease."
Lead study author Jonas Ludvigsson, MD, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, noted that they found an increased risk of neuropathy in patients with celiac disease that persists after celiac disease diagnosis.
"Although absolute risks for neuropathy are low, celiac disease is a potentially treatable condition with a young age of onset. Our findings suggest that screening could be beneficial in patients with neuropathy," Med Page Today quoted Ludvigsson as saying.
People suffering from celiac disease are often advised to cut down on bread and other wheat products, or any products containing gluten. Gluten is a protein substance that remains when starch is removed from cereal grains, and it gives cohesiveness to dough to be baked for bread.
The researchers point out that 64 out of every 100,000 patients who have just been diagnosed with celiac disease within the past one year have increased risks of having neuropathy, as against 15 out of every 100,000 in the general population.
The researchers add that their study "may also suggest that the two diseases may share risk factors or a common underlying etiology for the development of neuropathy, such as a potential role of immunologic mechanisms.
"The association between celiac and different types of neuropathy suggests that there may be specific underlying mechanisms that may lead to the predominance of one type of neuropathy compared with others."