Celiac disease and headache in children: a narrative state of the art.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to review pediatric literature on the cephalalgic features of children with celiac disease (CD) and evaluate the potential benefits of a gluten-free diet (GFD) on neurological symptoms.
Results Summary
The study found that while the prevalence of headache in children with CD remains controversial, adherence to a GFD appears to improve neurological symptoms, though the underlying mechanism is not fully understood.
Population
Children with celiac disease (pediatric age group).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gluten free diet | decrease | neurological symptoms | children with CD | - | seems to improve | #1 |
gluten free diet | decrease | cephalalgic features | children with CD | - | seems to improve | #2 |
Celiac disease (CD) is one of the most important entity of the wide spectrum of gluten-related disorders (GRDs). It is well known that neurological manifestation can be present either at the onset of CD, or appear during the development of the pathology, and different can be the neurologic findings. Clinical features are very variable, ranging from typical manifestations of gastrointestinal involvement to neurologic symptom. The most frequent neurologic signs reported were headache, epileptic seizure, migraine, mental retardation, ataxia and attention deficit and hyperactive disorder. Headache either in form of migraine, or in non-specific form represents one of the main clinical presentation in CD. The aim of this work is to provide a narrative review of the pediatric literature focused on the cephalalgic features of children with CD evaluating the potential benefits of a gluten free diet (GFD). Papers were identified by searching for related literature in Medline (PubMed) and Embase using the words "Celiac Disease" and "Headache" or "Migraine" by specifying "children"/"paediatric age" for reports published since 1972 till 31th October 2018. According to our inclusion criteria, a total of 25 papers has been evaluated. Although it is still controversial if headache is prevalent in CD children a correct compliance to a GFD seems to improve the neurological symptoms even if the underlying pathogenic relationship between CD and neurologic system involvement is still not fully understood.