Wheat and Headaches

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WHEAT & HEADACHES

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Wheat Protein Can Trigger Severe Headaches

Monday February 12 6:52 PM ET

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - According to the results of a small new study,

some people may experience migraine headaches due to an otherwise harmless

culprit: wheat.

 

The investigators found that limiting gluten--a protein found in wheat and

other grains--reduced symptoms of severe headache in seven out of nine

patients.

 

The patients were all found to have a sensitivity to gluten, which results

in a heightened immune responsiveness triggered by the protein, according

to the report published in the February issue of Neurology.

 

Gluten sensitivity can include celiac disease, an inherited inability to

digest gluten that results in abdominal distention, vomiting, diarrhea,

muscle wasting and lethargy. Other conditions can also develop, including

neurological problems or dermatitis herpetiformis--blister-like lesions on

the elbows, buttocks and knees, the report indicates. The only treatment is

strict avoidance of certain foods.

 

In the new study, Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou, from the Royal Hallamshire

Hospital in Sheffield, UK, and colleagues looked at 10 patients who had a

long history of headaches that had recently worsened or became resistant to

treatment. Many of the patients also had a lack of balance or unsteadiness.

 

Tests showed that these patients had a sensitivity to gluten, and magnetic

resonance imaging scans suggested they had inflammation in the central

nervous system.

 

Nine of the 10 patients tried a gluten-free diet, and seven stopped having

headaches. Two other patients had some--but not complete--success by

switching to a gluten-free diet. One patient did not follow the diet.

 

``If the results of the current study are confirmed, removal of the trigger

factor by the early introduction of gluten-free diet may be a promising

therapeutic intervention,'' Hadjivassiliou and colleagues write.

 

``Further studies of the effect of gluten-free diet are needed to confirm

these preliminary findings,'' the researchers conclude.

 

SOURCE: Neurology 2001;56:385-388.