# Gluten and Multiple Sclerosis **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 12, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-and-multiple-sclerosis/650058 "2013-02-12T03:41:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-and-multiple-sclerosis/650058/1 "2013-02-12T03:41:01Z")
What is the connection between gluten and multiple sclerosis? Is it a reasonable conclusion for MS patients to go gluten free? It does appear there is some link, but I don’t know enough about this paper to judge how outlandish it is. I’m generally skeptical of people who diagnose themselves as gluten sensitive. > **[Gluten sensitivity in multiple sclerosis: experimental myth or clinical truth?...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19758171/)** > > Patients with neurological disease of unknown etiology sometimes present with antigliadin and antitissue transglutaminase antibodies. The association between these antibodies and multiple sclerosis has been previously suggested. The purpose of this... The majority of websites are untrustworthy on this. If this is the only study to come to this conclusion, I’d note it, but not take in seriously. ---
**Author:** ![ClaytonThroop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@ClaytonThroop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ClaytonThroop)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-and-multiple-sclerosis/650058/2 "2013-02-12T04:49:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Patients with neurological disease of unknown etiology sometimes present with antigliadin and antitissue transglutaminase antibodies That’s me! I don’t have MS though - at least, nothing has shown up yet. > [@](#): > > Is it a reasonable conclusion for MS patients to go gluten free? I think the important part here is the observance of the gluten antibodies, as mentioned in the last sentence of their abstract. It’s probably not prudent for someone without any such antibodies to bother to go gluten free. (Not that I’d blame someone who wanted to give it a try, cause hey, who knows). In my own situation, my doctor has recommended I go gluten free for a few months, to a) see if the antibody levels change and b) see if my neurological symptoms change. He seems to think this is mostly uncharted territory (neurological symptoms, gluten antibodies, little to no GI involvement), so it’s very much an open question if they’re really related. To the best my doctor was able to find from his research, was that opinion was split on whether a gluten free diet improves neurological symptoms in these cases. Searching pubmed with “gluten antibodies” and “neuropathy” or similar yields a number of results, some about MS, some not, with no clear conclusions, e.g. ([Neurologic and psychiatric manifestations of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21877216)) So I don’t think it’s an idea that’s dismissed, but there’s far too little evidence to conclude anything. (Judging by what I’ve read and what my GI doc has told me, I’m not a doctor.) ---
**Author:** ![TreatMeGently](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@TreatMeGently](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreatMeGently)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-and-multiple-sclerosis/650058/3 "2015-04-29T22:53:04Z")
Hi there Saw you forum and had been researching and would like to contribute to this older debate - “Multiple Sclerosis (A gluten free diet should be considered in specific cases of patients who present with gluten antibodies)” > **[Gluten sensitivity in multiple sclerosis: experimental myth or clinical truth?...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19758171/)** > > Patients with neurological disease of unknown etiology sometimes present with antigliadin and antitissue transglutaminase antibodies. The association between these antibodies and multiple sclerosis has been previously suggested. The purpose of this... Then this also - with the gliadin 33-mer peptide also be discussed in other autoimmune diseases - > **[Antibody against α-gliadin 33-mer peptide: Is the key initiating factor for...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2251729415000063)** > > Despite great advances in clarifying the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the exact underlying mechanism has not been definitely established. … I’m an arthritis sufferer that has seen significant improvement on gluten free. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-and-multiple-sclerosis/650058/4 "2015-04-30T09:03:48Z")
[I asked the same question three years ago](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=667369).