Ataxia and the role of antigliadin antibodies.
BACKGROUND
Although it is acknowledged that patients with celiac disease can develop neurological complications such as ataxia, the association of antigliadin antibodies in the etiology of sporadic ataxia and the usefulness of this testing in diagnosis of ataxia is controversial.


METHODS
We investigated this association by testing for the presence of IgG and IgA antigliadin antibodies in 56 ataxic patients and 59 controls. The ataxia patients were subsequently classified into three groups: sporadic, hereditary and MSA.


RESULTS
Of the total ataxic patients, 6/56 (11%) were positive for either IgG or IGA antigliadin antibodies compared to the controls of which 5/59 (8%) were positive (p = 0.68). In a subgroup analysis, 4/29 (14%) of the samples in the sporadic ataxic subgroup were positive for antigliadin antibodies (IgG or IgA) compared to control (p = 0.44). Similar negative results were found in the remaining subgroup analyses.


CONCLUSIONS
These results do not support an association between antigliadin antibodies and sporadic ataxias.
Wong
D
D
Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. BC, Canada.
Dwinnel
M
M
Schulzer
M
M
Nimmo
M
M
Leavitt
B R
BR
Spacey
S D
SD
D000328:Adult; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000276:immunology*; D001259:Ataxia / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005903:Gliadin / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged
D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D005903:Gliadin