Tourette Syndrome and Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity. Clinical Remission with a Gluten-Free Diet: A Description Case

Abstract

Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a primary tic disorder, that reaches most commonly medical attention and monitoring, Its etiology remains unknow and there are scant information about the role of associated food intolerance to its presence. Methods: We analyze the case of a 13 y.o. female, with a long history of 10 years of tics and obsessivecompulsive disorder. She had a family history positive for celiac disease and we studied for her presence, determining serological markers (anti-tissue transglutaminase-2 (tTG), genetic markers of susceptibility (HLA-DQ2 and DQ8) and duodenal biopsies looking for the presence of villous atrophy and or lymphocytic enteritis. IgE specific to wheat, was also done. Results: The tTG was negative; HLA-DQ8 was positive and there was a moderate lymphocytic enteritis. IgE RAST test for wheat, was also negative. She was diagnosed of non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and a glutenfree diet (GFD) was started. A great clinical improvement was observed in few months and after 2.5 years she remains well and completely asymtomatic of her neuro-psychiatric ailments. Conclusions: This clinical observation opens a new possibility of the existence a causal relationship between the presence of a TS in children with NCGS and by consequence the convenience to start a GFD in these patients. New studies will be needed in order to support this observation.

Efficacy of a Gluten-Free Diet in the Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome: A Pilot Study

“…Likewise, an improvement was observed in the disability related to the presence of OCD, which is also more striking in children than in adults. We have only found two previous reports in the literature, one of a patient with OCD associated with GTS, and another of an isolated case, both of which showed an improvement in symptoms along with a reduction in their previous disability [17,18].…”

“…For this reason, the GFD could have a beneficial effect on their general symptomatology, including neurological symptoms. At present, there is little evidence of its utility in these patients and only isolated cases have provided evidence of the efficacy of a GFD, showing that it could be beneficial [17][18][19], as has been reported in patients with autism; in these cases milk casein was also eliminated from the diet of many of them [20]. Its long-term efficacy has been described in one isolated case of GTS treated with GFD for 3 years, whose neurological and general symptomatology completely recovered.…”

Prevalencia mundial, factores de riesgo y diagnóstico de laboratorio asociados al síndrome de Tourette en niños

“…El síndrome de Tourette, también llamado síndrome de Gilles, se define como un trastorno neuropsiquiátrico que se manifiesta en la infancia, aunque en casos excepcionales puede aparecer durante la adolescencia, de acuerdo con la Organización Mundial de la Salud, este síndrome se encuentra entre las más de 7000 enfermedades raras o poco comunes que afectan a cerca del 7% de la población global (Huerta M, 2015).…”