Role of the gluten-free diet on neurological-EEG findings and sleep disordered breathing in children with celiac disease

Abstract

Purpose: To determine whether celiac children are at risk for EEG-neurological features and sleep disordered breathing (SDB), and whether an appropriate gluten-free diet (GFD) influences these disorders.

Methods: We consecutively enrolled 19 children with a new biopsy-proven celiac disease (CD) diagnosis. At CD diagnosis and after 6 months of GFD, each patient underwent a general and neurological examination, an electroencephalogram, a questionnaire about neurological features, and a validated questionnaire about SDB: OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) scores<0 predict normality; values>0 predict OSA.

Results: At CD diagnosis, 37% of patients complained headache that affected daily activities and 32% showed positive OSA score. The EEG examinations revealed abnormal finding in 48% of children. After 6 months of GFD headache disappeared in 72% of children and EEG abnormalities in 78%; all children showed negative OSA score.

Conclusion: According to our preliminary data, in the presence of unexplained EEG abnormalities and/or other neurological disorders/SDB an atypical or silent CD should also be taken into account.

Keywords: Celiac disease; Electroencephalographic abnormalities; Gluten-free diet; Headache; Sleep disordered breathing.