Celiac Disease News
September 2010

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) was found to be frequently associated with celiac disease, researchers reported in the June 2010 issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences. These findings could lead doctors to screen for celiac disease in patients with RLS and diagnose and treat them for a disease they otherwise would have missed.

“Screening for celiac disease in patients with idiopathic RLS may have importance because celiac disease is a commonly overlooked silent disease,” stated Leonard B. Weinstock, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, and colleagues. “Thus, celiac disease may be an underlying correctable factor for some patients diagnosed with idiopathic RLS.”

RLS is a central nervous system disorder that is recognized by the compelling urge to move the legs that worsens at night. Previous neurological research has shown that people with RLS have an iron deficiency, and the greater the iron deficiency, the more severe the RLS. Research has also shown that people with celiac disease likely have an iron deficiency. The researchers used this link as a basis for their study. “The original rationale for this study was that both conditions often have concomitant iron deficiency,” the researchers stated.

However, researchers found that 50 percent of patients did not have iron deficiency, suggesting that alternative mechanisms for RLS and celiac disease may also be at play, such as an immune alteration as is shown in other celiac-associated disorders such as thyroid, ataxia, and other autoimmune disorders.

Researchers called celiac disease the “great modern-day imposter” because it is often clinically silent or has mild gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and, therefore, may be undiagnosed for many years. Celiac disease symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and constipation; however, celiac disease can occur without GI symptoms. Celiac disease should also be considered in people with disorders such as osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, infertility, and thyroid disease.

The study, the first to investigate the epidemiology of RLS in celiac disease, examined 85 people with celiac disease. Researchers found that 35 percent had RLS, compared with only 10 percent of the control group. The people who were identified with celiac disease began a gluten-free diet; 50 percent of them had a substantial improvement in their RLS symptoms. The researchers stated that this improvement could be due to improved iron absorption.

Showing the association between RLS and celiac disease could yield potential diagnosis and therapeutic benefits for both groups of people. Researchers hope that treatment with a gluten-free diet and aggressive iron replacement may improve the quality of life for patients with celiac disease who have RLS. The researchers concluded, “This study presents the epidemiology of RLS in patients with celiac disease, and because an association between the two conditions has been newly recognized, further studies are warranted.”

Source: celiac.nih.gov – September 2010