Celiac Disease and the Autoimmune vs Nervous System Battle

The Journal of Neuroimmunology published a paper earlier this year discussing Celiac Disease (CD) and its possible link with the nervous system. Celiac disease is an increasingly common gastro-intestinal problem that has autoimmune properties. The symptoms of inflammation, bloating, pain, weight loss and irritable bowel make this a challenge to treat nutritionally. The above study investigated the neurological relationship between the immune system and nervous system in people diagnosed with CD, and found that in almost half the cases the immune system would attack the nervous system proteins. Interestingly this attack mode wasn’t correlated with the other neurological symptoms of headaches, depression, epilepsy, etc, and the reaction of the antibodies didn’t change with a change in diet, either. Why is this interesting? Most of the journal articles on neurology seem moderately obsessed with these symptoms and their absence points to an entirely different tack in neuroscience research.
The immune systems of people suffering from CD are in a state of hyper-vigilance for some reason and are easily provoked to attack self-antigens (little markers on each one of our cells that tell our immune system what is part of us and what is a foreign invader). Some theorize that the timing of the vaccination schedule in those predisposed to autoimmune diseases, combined with the introduction of solid foods in infants (CD is among the group of gluten-intolerant diseases) may not only contribute to the recognition of self-antigens as foreign invaders but also cause immune reactions to normal foodstuffs like wheat, dairy, etc.
Reference:
Briania, C., Zaraa, G., Alaedinib, A., Grassivaroa, F., Ruggeroa, S., Toffanina, E., Albergonic, M.P., Lucac, M., Giomettod, B., Ermania, M., De Lazzarie, F., D'Odoricoe, A., Battistinaf, L. (2008). "Neurological complications of celiac disease and autoimmune mechanisms: A prospective study." Journal of Neuroimmunology 195 (1) pp.171-75.