[Diagnosis of coeliac disease in patients with isolated neuropsychological symptoms. Cases reports].

INTRODUCTION

After first report of Cooke e Smith, numerous are the reports of Coeliac Disease (CD) and neuropsychological symptoms association. The neuropsychological symptoms may precede or follow the diagnosis of CD, representing sometimes the only clinic manifestations (atypical forms). It's seem that frequency of unknown CD in patients with neuropsychological symptoms is about 16% and in a recent study about 7% of new cases of CD was diagnosed in order of neuropsychological disorders. To explain this clinical association various are the hypothesis proposed.

CASE REPORTS: We report n degrees 4 cases (middle age 11 years and 2 months) come to our clinic for neuropsychological symptoms; all had diagnosis of CD (by serologic screening and intestinal biopsy); nobody had nutritional deficit, sideropenic anaemia or thyroid deficits. In all patients the introduction of dietetic therapy resolved the symptoms.

CONCLUSION

These cases represent atypical forms of CD manifested in childhood only by neuropsychological disorders. To make an early diagnosis and to improve the disease prognosis, the literature and our clinic experience shown that is useful screen the CD in all patients with neuropsychological disorders such as epileptics foci in the parietal-occipital region and/or occipital calcification, headache (mostly if there isn't familiarity), spinocerebellar ataxia, neuromuscular disease of unknown aetiology, Down syndrome, behavioural disorders and some psychiatric troubles.