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Rosie,
Are you familiar with the theories of Dr. Rodney Ford, of New Zealand? He's a pediatrician who has long promoted the idea that gluten crosses the blood/brain barrier to cause major neurological issues. In fact, I believe that he was the one who originated the theory that for gluten sensitive individuals, the neurological issues come first, and the GI issues, come later. Here's an article by him:
http://www.celiac.com/articles/1085/1/G ... Page1.html
One of the foremost researchers of the neurological effects of gluten, is Dr. Hadjivassiliou, who lives in England, I believe. Here is an excellent article written by him, (and his associates). You have to register to read the full article, but registration is free, and it's a great article, (this article is also where he discusses the involvement of certain DQ1 genes with celiac disease):
http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/72/5/560
Here is a list of a lot of articles about this issue. You can click on the link at the bottom of each listing, (the link that says "Full Story"), to read the entire article. There are at least 6 articles discussing the connection between schizophrenia and celiac disease:
http://www.celiac.com/categories/Celiac ... c-Disease/
I'm pretty sure that you are quite correct about the sister with schizophrenia. She is definitely a prime candidate. It would be a crying shame for her to not at least try a GF diet for a while, since it might completely turn her life around.
This article may be helpful:
http://www.celiac.com/articles/21482/1/ ... Page1.html
And this one:
http://www.celiac.com/articles/146/1/Be ... Page1.html
If you need more, or something more specialized, please let me know.
Tex
Scientific American Article on Celiac Disease
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
It will take me some time to read through all the articles, and then I'll see if I have any further questions.
Thanks Tex,
I wasn't aware of Dr. Fine's data. I would guess that some of the people who are not sensitive to gluten get gut damage from casein and/or soy . . . and/or don't carry the genes for gluten sensitivity??? Also, I am guessing some in that group could be IgA deficient, just like in celiac disease - I read that IgA deficiency is higher in celiacs, so possibly also in NCGS, and they get a false negative.
Mary Beth
I wasn't aware of Dr. Fine's data. I would guess that some of the people who are not sensitive to gluten get gut damage from casein and/or soy . . . and/or don't carry the genes for gluten sensitivity??? Also, I am guessing some in that group could be IgA deficient, just like in celiac disease - I read that IgA deficiency is higher in celiacs, so possibly also in NCGS, and they get a false negative.
Mary Beth
Mary Beth,
I'm pretty sure that you're correct on all counts,to the best of my knowledge.
You're most welcome,
Tex
I'm pretty sure that you're correct on all counts,to the best of my knowledge.
You're most welcome,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex, I read the articles, and they were quite interesting. My son, whose wife Helen has the schizophrenic sister, Kate, unexpectedly stopped by on a business trip yesterday and I was able to talk to him about this. He told me that his wife was aware of the connection, and that they had noticed an improvement in her sister's symptoms when she was on a gluten-free diet. And it turns out that Kate is actually gluten-sensitive, just not as severe, and she doesn't always follow the diet carefully. I wasn't aware of this, as I had been told she could eat wheat products. This is a common problem, as schizophrenics often aren't very good about taking their medications either.
I wonder if she might have been much better if she had been diagnosed as a child and been on the gluten-free diet from the beginning. The CD in the family history really wasn't recognized until Helen, who is younger than Kate, had severe failure to thrive as a baby. She was 17 months old and weighed only 17 pounds. Her mother, not the doctors, was the one who figured out what the problem was. The mother really didn't start having symptoms until she was about 50 years old, and is now gluten-free.
All the reading I did made me much more aware about the connection of CD and MC with other autoimmune diseases. I have asthma, and I remembered that when I had the severe diarrhea starting several months ago, I also had a severe flareup with my asthma too, so much so that I went to the doctor and was prescribed a 7 day course of 40 mg of prednisone to get it under control. And as an aside, the predisone didn't help at all with my diarrhea, which I find puzzling. Now that my diarrhea is under good control, my asthma seems better too. I also have other autoimmune issues, such as several episodes of severe RA over the years in connection with a german measles vaccination and a viral infection. I also have Rayauld's syndrome, with numbness in my fingers when they get cold. All this has convinced me that it would be useful to go gluten free and see how my asthma responds. I also wonder if I would have more energy. I'm somewhat familiar cooking gluten free because of my daughter-in-law and grandkids, and it's not a huge deal for me. I don't buy a lot of packaged foods since I'm already dairy intolerant, so I'm used to cooking from scratch. In thinking about my diet, it really isn't that much of a lifestyle change. The biggest problem is eating in restaurants, but I don't do that much anyway.
I also have ordered the fecal gluten sensitivity test from Enterolabs. If it is negative, then I'll figure that I'm not gluten sensitive, but if it is positive, I'll probably continue with the gluten free diet.
I wonder if she might have been much better if she had been diagnosed as a child and been on the gluten-free diet from the beginning. The CD in the family history really wasn't recognized until Helen, who is younger than Kate, had severe failure to thrive as a baby. She was 17 months old and weighed only 17 pounds. Her mother, not the doctors, was the one who figured out what the problem was. The mother really didn't start having symptoms until she was about 50 years old, and is now gluten-free.
All the reading I did made me much more aware about the connection of CD and MC with other autoimmune diseases. I have asthma, and I remembered that when I had the severe diarrhea starting several months ago, I also had a severe flareup with my asthma too, so much so that I went to the doctor and was prescribed a 7 day course of 40 mg of prednisone to get it under control. And as an aside, the predisone didn't help at all with my diarrhea, which I find puzzling. Now that my diarrhea is under good control, my asthma seems better too. I also have other autoimmune issues, such as several episodes of severe RA over the years in connection with a german measles vaccination and a viral infection. I also have Rayauld's syndrome, with numbness in my fingers when they get cold. All this has convinced me that it would be useful to go gluten free and see how my asthma responds. I also wonder if I would have more energy. I'm somewhat familiar cooking gluten free because of my daughter-in-law and grandkids, and it's not a huge deal for me. I don't buy a lot of packaged foods since I'm already dairy intolerant, so I'm used to cooking from scratch. In thinking about my diet, it really isn't that much of a lifestyle change. The biggest problem is eating in restaurants, but I don't do that much anyway.
I also have ordered the fecal gluten sensitivity test from Enterolabs. If it is negative, then I'll figure that I'm not gluten sensitive, but if it is positive, I'll probably continue with the gluten free diet.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time………Thomas Edison
Rosie,
I believe you're correct that Kate would have been much, much better off if she had been diagnosed early, and had stuck to the diet all these years. Apparently, the neurological symptoms of gluten sensitivity are much more likely to leave permanent effects, than the GI symptoms. Helen is really fortunate that her mother was more vigilant than the doctors, (I'm always amazed at how often highly-trained doctors, completely overlook such obvious, (to the rest of us), symptoms - what are they thinking? Or maybe they're simply not thinking.)
I had severe asthma when I was a kid, but I outgrew it, (it was replaced by hay fever, when I was in my early 20s). I really wonder if I might have been a "silent celiac" most of my life, because when my "issues" finally became serious, my first symptom was malabsorption. I often had a problem with C, while growing up, but not with D - that came after the malabsorption became a serious problem.
If you're already cooking from scratch, then the transition to GF should be fairly easy, and mostly "painless", because there are plenty of GF flour mix substitutes available, these days, and plenty of good GF, DF gourmet recipes.
The Enterolab test should definitely answer your question about whether or not you're gluten sensitive. It seems to be extremely accurate. Please let us know the results, when you get them.
Tex
I believe you're correct that Kate would have been much, much better off if she had been diagnosed early, and had stuck to the diet all these years. Apparently, the neurological symptoms of gluten sensitivity are much more likely to leave permanent effects, than the GI symptoms. Helen is really fortunate that her mother was more vigilant than the doctors, (I'm always amazed at how often highly-trained doctors, completely overlook such obvious, (to the rest of us), symptoms - what are they thinking? Or maybe they're simply not thinking.)
I had severe asthma when I was a kid, but I outgrew it, (it was replaced by hay fever, when I was in my early 20s). I really wonder if I might have been a "silent celiac" most of my life, because when my "issues" finally became serious, my first symptom was malabsorption. I often had a problem with C, while growing up, but not with D - that came after the malabsorption became a serious problem.
If you're already cooking from scratch, then the transition to GF should be fairly easy, and mostly "painless", because there are plenty of GF flour mix substitutes available, these days, and plenty of good GF, DF gourmet recipes.
The Enterolab test should definitely answer your question about whether or not you're gluten sensitive. It seems to be extremely accurate. Please let us know the results, when you get them.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thanks, Tex. My asthma didn't come on until I was older. Looking back, it appears to track somewhat with my digestive issues.
The malabsorbtion issue can have unexpected effects too. I have CD to thank for some grandkids. My daughter-in-law was on birth control pills and unexpectedly got pregnant.
She figured it was just one of those things until she got pregnant AGAIN while on birth control pills. She now figures that her CD resulted in lowed absorbtion of her birth control medication, so now she is using other methods, and I have two wonderful grandkids! 
The malabsorbtion issue can have unexpected effects too. I have CD to thank for some grandkids. My daughter-in-law was on birth control pills and unexpectedly got pregnant.
She figured it was just one of those things until she got pregnant AGAIN while on birth control pills. She now figures that her CD resulted in lowed absorbtion of her birth control medication, so now she is using other methods, and I have two wonderful grandkids! Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time………Thomas Edison
I never gave that any thought, but it makes perfect sense, since the hormones in birth control pills are fat-soluble. 
We learn something new here every day.
Tex
We learn something new here every day.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.