[Adult coeliac disease, epilepsy and cerebral calcifications. A case report].
Coeliac disease has a prevalence of between 1/300 and 1/2000 in Europe. A net increase has been observed in the past few years and has been correlated with the greater attention focused on this pathology. The clinical signs may be heterogeneous and their onset may occur at any age. In addition to the classic presentation of the typical malabsorption syndrome, an ''atypical'' presentation has been described, especially in ''adults'', with more frequent involvement of extraintestinal sites and more often in a mono/paucisymptomatic form. The classic variety of coeliac disease is currently thought to be merely the tip of an iceberg whose submerged parts are represented by the subclinical variations, correlated clinical syndromes not yet fully identified and an asymptomatic variety (silent, latent or potential) characterised by various degrees of permanent or transient diet-related alterations to intestinal mucosa. Recently, the association between coeliac disease and epilepsy was described in patients with bilateral occipital calcifications. This study reports the case of a 36-year-old man with manifestations of late onset coeliac disease after a long history of epilepsy starting in infancy and associated with cerebral calcifications.
Divisione di Medicina Interna, Ospedale S. Spirito, Nizza Monferrato, Asti.
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Nifosí
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Bologna
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Scassa