Degeneration of the central nervous system associated with celiac disease.

The following report describes a 57-year-old man with celiac disease who developed a progressive and fatal neurologic disorder despite intensive medical and nutritional care. The clinical and pathological CNS findings in this patient are compared with those of 9 previously reported patients with well documented celiac disease in whom a progressive CNS disorder was carefully studied both pre-and postmortem. An entity of CNS degeneration associated with celiac disease appears to emerge from the study of these 10 cases. This disorder affects predominantly the cerebellum, deep gray masses, certain brain stem nuclei, and spinal cord; its cause and pathogenesis are unknown.