Patients with celiac disease clinical and epilepsy in electroencephalographic

Celiac disease is a multisystemic disease of overreactivity towards gluten present in grain and grain products on individuals with genetic predisposition, accompanied by immunological mechanisms, characterized with inflammation of intestinal mucosa and submucosa, often proceeding with malabsorbtion and clinical findings are improved when gluten is taken away from the diet. There is a very large scale of gastrointestinal and nongastrointestinal system findings. Atiypical clinical findings take precedence in patients diagnosed in older ages. Celiac disease has a very extensive range of neurological findings including particularly ataxia, epilepsy and peripheral neuropathies. Epilepsy is an important neurological disorder which is reported to be coexisting with celiac disease. The mechanism of epilepsy and celiac disease?s coexistence has not been completely understood. The aim of this study is to light the way for the pathogenesis of the neurological influence in the celiac disease by clinical and electroencephalographic evaluation of the celiac patients for epilepsy. 175 celiac patients and 99 healthy children as controls have been included to the study. Celiac patiens were divided into two groups as the newly diagnosed and formerly diagnosed according to the time they started to apply diets. Groups were compared to each other and the results were analysed.Epileptiform activity frequency on EEG?s of newly diagnosed celiac patients (n:43) is significantly higher compared to the control group (n:99) and the formerly diagnosed group (n:143) (p<0,05). None of the celiac patients with EEG abnormalities had abnormalities on cranial imaging tecniques. In our study, there wasn?t a significant difference in vitamin B12 levels between groups. The results of our study suggest that immunological factors may be more important than B12 vitamin levels in the pathogenesis of epileptiform activity EEG developed in celiac patients. Also, considering celiac patients epileptiform activity frequency on EEG?s is significantly higher compared to healthy children, it suggests a detailed neurological examination on celiac patients, especially the newly diagnosed patients should be evaluated for epilepsy and neurological complications.