title: The Frequency of Epileptiform Discharges in Celiac Disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We studied patients with celiac disease to define the frequency of epileptiform discharges on electroencephalography.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 307 children with a diagnosis of celiac disease (study group) and 197 age- and sex-matched healthy children as controls (control group) were included in this study. The study group was further divided into newly diagnosed celiac disease patients (n = 216) and patients who were on a gluten-free diet (n = 91) for at least 6 months. Medical histories of all children including age, sex, symptoms, weight, height, physical examination findings, and laboratory data were recorded. All patients underwent an electroencephalograph in a pediatric neurology electroencephalograph laboratory with a 32-channel electroencephalograph for 30 minutes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-five patients were defined to have epileptiform discharges (spike/sharp-wave discharges); 24 (7.8%) of those patients were in the celiac disease group and 1 (0.5%) was in the control group (P = 0.001). Among those 24 patients, 21 (9.7%) were in newly diagnosed celiac disease group and 3 (3.3%) were in the gluten-free diet group (P = 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients diagnosed with celiac disease are prone to epileptiform activities on electroencephalography and should be evaluated carefully. Moreover, strict adherence to a gluten-free diet early should be advised in those patients with epileptiform activities because it may effectively decrease the occurrence of epileptiform activities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey. Electronic address: dr.sedatisikay@mynet.com.
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Işıkay
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Halil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kocamaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sadettin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sezer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Yaşar
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Özkars
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nurgül
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Işıkay
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Filik
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Şan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Gaziantep Children's Hospital, Şehitkamil, Gaziantep, Turkey.
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanmaz
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D055050:Diet, Gluten-Free; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: celiac disease; child; epilepsy; epileptiform activity