Abstract:

Gluten intolerance is an autoimmune enteropathy caused by heterogeneous mixture of wheat storage proteins. Malabsorption symptoms imply diarrhoea, abdominal pain/bloating and weight loss. This case describes a 22-year-old female subject, who had chronic headache, joint pain, urticaria and long period of amenorrhea. Skin prick tests revealed a sensitisation to α-gliadin, while neurological, gynaecological, endocrine and clinical-laboratory examinations did not justify the above-mentioned symptoms. Gluten-free diet resolved chronic symptoms and re-established the menstrual cycle, whereas a temporary gliadin daily diet re-exacerbated all clinical symptoms. Urticaria occurred 20 min and the chronic headache the next day after exposure to the gliadin-rich diet. In addition, the missing of the expected menstrual bleeding was observed. This case demonstrates that gliadin intake can induce malabsorption and 'idiopathic' neuronal or gynaecological symptoms.

Open in

PUBMED | DOI | PMC | Google Scholar | Wikipedia

Relations:

Content

References

(7)

Diseases

(2)

Conditions

(3)

Chemicals

(1)

Organisms

(1)

Gliadin allergy manifested with chronic urticaria, headache and amenorrhea

^{Department of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, Mother Theresa School of Medicine, Tirana, Albania}

^{Department of Internal Medicine, District Hospital of Lushnja, Lushnja, Albania}

^{Department of Preclinical Disciplines, Albanian University, Medical University, Tirana, Albania}

^{Department of Internal Medicine, Specialties Policlinic No 3, Tirana, Albania}

^{Department of Internal Medicine, Regional Hospital, Vlora, Albania}

Correspondence to Mr Ervin Ç Mingomataj, ed.xmg@ygologrella

Abstract

Gluten intolerance is an autoimmune enteropathy caused by heterogeneous mixture of wheat storage proteins. Malabsorption symptoms imply diarrhoea, abdominal pain/bloating and weight loss. This case describes a 22-year-old female subject, who had chronic headache, joint pain, urticaria and long period of amenorrhea. Skin prick tests revealed a sensitisation to α-gliadin, while neurological, gynaecological, endocrine and clinical-laboratory examinations did not justify the above-mentioned symptoms. Gluten-free diet resolved chronic symptoms and re-established the menstrual cycle, whereas a temporary gliadin daily diet re-exacerbated all clinical symptoms. Urticaria occurred 20 min and the chronic headache the next day after exposure to the gliadin-rich diet. In addition, the missing of the expected menstrual bleeding was observed. This case demonstrates that gliadin intake can induce malabsorption and ‘idiopathic’ neuronal or gynaecological symptoms.

Abstract

Learning points

Footnotes

Competing interests None.

Patient consent Obtained.

Footnotes

References

1. Mitea C, Salentijn EM, van Veelen P, et al A universal approach to eliminate antigenic properties of alpha-gliadin peptides in celiac disease.PLoS ONE 2010;5:e15637. [Google Scholar]
2. Laparra Llopis JM, Sanz Herranz Y. Gliadins induce TNFalpha production through cAMP-dependent protein kinase A activation in intestinal cells (Caco-2).J Physiol Biochem 2010;66:153–9 [[PubMed]
3. Soni S, Badawy SZ. Celiac disease and its effect on human reproduction: a review.J Reprod Med 2010;55:3–8 [[PubMed]
4. Hadjivassiliou M, Rao DG, Wharton SB, et al Sensory ganglionopathy due to gluten sensitivity.Neurology 2010;75:1003–8 [[PubMed][Google Scholar]
5. Bushara KO. Neurologic presentation of celiac disease.Gastroenterology 2005;128Suppl 4:S92–7 [[PubMed]
6. Humbert P, Pelletier F, Dreno B, et al Gluten intolerance and skin diseases.Eur J Dermatol 2006;16:4–11 [[PubMed][Google Scholar]
7. Kulthanan K, Jiamton S, Rutnin NO, et al Prevalence and relevance of the positivity of skin prick testing in patients with chronic urticaria.J Dermatol 2008;35:330–5 [[PubMed][Google Scholar]

Collaboration tool especially designed for Life Science professionals.Drag-and-drop any entity to your messages.

Learn More