Anti-ganglioside antibodies and celiac disease

We describe our own experience on the prevalence of a wider range of anti-ganglioside antibodies and their clinical significance in CD patients. Using a commercially available ELISA kit (IMMCO Diagnostics, Buffalo, NY, USA), we studied anti-GM1, anti-GD1b, and anti-GQ1b serum IgG and IgM antibodies in 22 adult patients (median age 35, range: 19–56 years; three males, 19 females) with CD and neurological manifestations, including eight cases of idiopathic cerebellar ataxia, seven cases with epilepsy (without cerebral calcifications), two with multiple sclerosis, three with attention/memory impairment, and two with peripheral neuropathies. In all cases, diagnosis of CD was confirmed by endoscopic duodenal biopsy, revealing different grades of villous atrophy (from 3a to 3c, according to the modified Marsh classification). In all CD patients, intestinal villous atrophy was associated with a positivity for serological CD markers (anti-endomysial and/or anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies) further supporting the diagnosis of CD. All available data, regarding CD diagnosis, diagnostic work-up, histopathology and treatment were obtained from the hospital digital database.