(one more try to explain this without confusing so many people)

It's commonly known that a severe allergy to peanuts can cause death within minutes.
What if there were an allergy that disabled people slowly, over their entire lifetime?
That's what I believe is happening in many cases of Parkinson's disease.

Celiac disease is an allergy to gliadin, a specific gluten protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. In celiac disease the IgA antigliadin antibody is produced after ingestion of gluten. It attacks the gluten, but also mistakenly binds to and creates an immune reaction in the cells of the small intestine causing severe damage. There is another form of gluten intolerance, Dermatitis Herpetiformis, in which the IgA antigliadin bind to proteins in the skin, causing blisters, itching and pain. This can occur without any signs of intestinal damage. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is a similar autoimmune reaction to gliadin, however it usually involves the IgG form of the antibody and damage to the small intestine is not common.

It has recently been shown that certain IgG antigliadins can bind to proteins in the brain.
I believe this starts a process which causes the cumulative brain damage seen in PD.

This is some of the data which started my research:
-IgG class antibodies were found bound to dopamine neurons and Lewy bodies in brains from Parkinson's patients indicating an immune reaction.
-Idiopathic PD is significantly associated with HLA antigen gene DQB1*0602.
-HLA DQB1*06 alleles are also associated with Non-celiac gluten sensitivity. In fact DQB1*06 alleles seem to confer a higher risk to present neurological rather than intestinal symptoms.


This is the process I have proposed:
1. Genetically susceptible people produce antigliadin antibodies capable of binding to brain proteins. These antibodies are ordinarily too large to pass through the blood-brain-barrier, and no damage occurs.
2. The BBB is compromised somehow. This may be due to age-related degradation or trauma or chemical exposure. The blood-brain-barrier has been found to be more porous in Parkinson's patients than in control subjects.
3. Antibodies slowly begin to infiltrate the brain, attack the neurons, and obstruct neurotransmitter release. This causes an excess of alpha-synuclein in the cell and initiates the formation of lewy bodies. These accumulated products kill the cells over time, reducing dopamine levels further until symptoms become apparent.
4. Over time, degradation of the BBB accumulates and progression of the disease accelerates. There are also many reports of sudden onset or rapid progression after trauma or chemical exposure.

I believe this mechanism is also valid for persons with Parkin mutations. It seems they are less able to process the alpha-synuclein after is has accumulated.

(I have a paper detailing this mechanism with references posted on my website. For the record, I have narcolepsy which I believe is an acute, early manifestation of the same process.)

Let me stress, these antibodies do not have any affinity for the intestine.
However, each person can create up to four different versions of the antigen which produces this antibody (two protein chains x two sets of alleles=four products), Therefore you may also produce a form which does damage the intestine. You may also have other genes which produce celiac disease.
There is no reason to expect any correlation between gastrological symptoms and your risk of neurological damage due to gluten sensitivity.

Anyhow, if you are interested here is a list of some non-intestinal symptoms of GS which you or one of your relatives may exhibit: migraines, sleep disorders, defective tooth enamel, chronic mouth sores, over or under-active thyroid. Intestinal diseases associated with GS include: irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease and diverticulitis.

Personally I believe that anyone with PD symptoms in the absence of proven manganese toxicity should be tested for gluten sensitivity. However I have not been able to convince even one person with PD yet. I have sent my paper to every major organization and any practitioner I have felt might be interested, yet have received no indication anyone is taking it seriously. I feel that they are all too beholden to their own interests to consider a preventative treatment which involves one test and no drugs at all. Of course I realize this isn't a cure for those who are already affected, but I do believe gluten avoidance can halt further progression of the disease. (In addition to myself, I do already have reports from 5 narcoleptics of positive tests, or rapid remission of their symptoms on a gluten-free diet.)

Celiac tests are specific for intestinal tissue antibodies and usually do NOT include an assay for IgG antigliadin. There are specific tests for gluten sensitivity which do include IgA and IgG antibodies. Your doctor may agree to order one for you, but as far as I can tell, most of them aren't aware of, or open to the possibility of neurological effects of gluten.

There are two US labs where you can order your own test:

ImmunoLabs Anti-Gliadin Antibody Assay (2 tests, IgA and IgG) $132
This one requires going to a local lab for a blood draw and the serum gets mailed to them.
Some people who are gluten sensitive do test negative via blood though.

Enterolab Fecal test for Gluten sensitivity. $99
This requires a sample that you mail back to them. It is the most sensitive and accurate test available.

If you are elsewhere, let me know, I'll find one for you too.

Thanks for reading, I'm sorry this was so long, but I really believe this is a valid possibility which should be investigated. I will continue to pester the medical research community until I'm either proven right or wrong.

-Heidi

For more information on the neurological effects of gluten, please see The Gluten File
For my story and hypothesis, see my website linked to my profile.