Improvement in central monoamine metabolism in adult coeliac patients starting a gluten-free diet

Abstract

Adult coeliac patients taking a gluten-free diet for one year showed an increase of 33% in the concentrations in CSF of major monoamine metabolites (5-HIAA, HVA and MOPEG). Tryptophan in CSF rose by 10%. There was concomitant morphological improvement in the jejunal mucosa, and the results would seem to indicate that the reduced central monoamine metabolism in untreated adult coeliacs is not primarily genetically determined but is probably related to the poor intestinal absorption.