Gluten link found to schizophrenia

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm...ceanddiscovery

Gluten link found to schizophrenia

Researchers have found a strong relationship between gluten
intolerance and schizophrenia.

Earlier this month another study found as many as one in 100 children
could be affected by coeliac disease - an intolerance to gluten found
in foods made using flour.

Some clinical trials have shown that a cereal-free diet, such as that
followed by those with coeliac disease, helped tackle the symptoms of
schizophrenia.

The most important genetic marker found in the study of coeliac
disease has also been found to be close to one implicated in
schizophrenia.

In the latest research, published in the British Medical Journal, a
team from the US and Denmark studied 7,997 admitted to a Danish
psychiatric facility for the first time between 1981 and 1998.

For each case they also randomly selected 25 control subjects matched
by year of birth and sex.

Four patients, five mothers of patients and three fathers of patients
were being treated for coeliac disease before they were admitted to
hospital with schizophrenia - 1.5 per 1,000 patients.

Cases among the control group were 0.5 per 1,000 people.

The researchers concluded: "A history of coeliac disease is a risk
factor for schizophrenia, as shown in this epidemiological study.

"The risk relation is strong but reflects a small proportion of cases
of either disorder, since both disorders are rare."

The team, from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Aarhus
University in Denmark, said an important question was the degree to
which removing gluten from the diet would alleviate symptoms in those
with schizophrenia and coeliac disease.