Thursday, October 11, 2012

Heads up: Dr. Aria Sabit and the neurological implications of celiac disease



Neurologists, like Dr. Aria Sabit, are aware of how serious celiac disease could be. The disease, also called sprue, is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine, thus preventing it from absorbing nutritious parts in food essential to human health.

Aria Sabit Image Credit: genengnews.com


Celiac disease is also known as gluten intolerance due to a reaction in patients to gluten, which is found mainly in wheat, barley, rye, and even oats. Medical experts are yet to pinpoint the exact cause of celiac disease. What is known, however, is that the immune system in patients with the disease reacts to gluten by damaging the villi in a person’s intestines, the area responsible for absorbing nutrients as food passes through.

Aria Sabit Image Credit: image.funscrape.com


Neurologists, like Dr. Aria Sabit, are aware that, aside from malnutrition, celiac disease has several neurological implications. Among these are cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy, dementia, and depression. Recent studies have come to include migraine, encephalopathy, chorea, brain stem dysfunction, myelopathy, and mononeuritis multiplex as neurological effects of celiac disease.

Aria Sabit Image Credit: nhs.uk


A recent study assembled a group of celiac disease patients and evaluated the levels of brain abnormality present. Based on factors as balance disturbance, headaches, and sensory levels, the study found that celiac patients had a significantly lower cerebellar volume than the control group used for the study, as well as significantly less gray matter density in several regions of the brain.

Read more about Dr. Aria Sabit and the Michigan Brain and Spine Physicians Group PLLC on BrainandSpineBlog.Wordpress.com.