Schizophrenia is a disabling mental illness that affects about 1 percent of people in all cultures. Schizophrenia's signs and symptoms include hallucinations, loss of contact with reality, disorganized speech and behavior, impaired reasoning abilities and disintegration of occupational and social function. Schizophrenia's cause is unknown, but genetic, environmental and immune factors play a role. Your immune response to specific substances, such as wheat gluten, could influence your risk for developing schizophrenia or its severity.
Wheat Gluten
Gluten is a combination of two proteins -- gliadin and glutelin -- found in the grains of certain cereals, such as wheat, barley and rye. If you possess a certain genetic makeup, gluten in your diet can trigger a heightened immune response that leads to illness. Physicians at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, report that up to 1 percent of people in the United States have celiac disease, a gluten-related autoimmune disorder that can affect your intestine, skin, liver, bones, reproductive system, endocrine glands and nervous system.
Immunity and Schizophrenia
A link between immunity and schizophrenia has been theorized for decades, partly because many schizophrenic patients also suffer from autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. A study published in the January 2011 issue of "BMC Neuroscience" demonstrated that blood levels of inflammatory cytokines, chemicals produced by activated immune cells, are significantly higher in schizophrenic patients than in healthy subjects. Interestingly, many people with schizophrenia exhibit specific sensitivities to gluten.
Response
According to the May 2010 issue of "Schizophrenia Research," celiac disease was first described in schizophrenic patients over 50 years ago. However, even though celiac disease may occur more frequently in schizophrenics than in the general population, some schizophrenic patients seem to react to gluten in a way that is distinct from people with true celiac disease. In a 2010 study conducted at Cornell University involving 17 schizophrenic patients, scientists discovered that these individuals, when exposed to dietary gluten, produced antibodies that were different from those produced by patients with celiac disease.
Considerations
Gluten sensitivity has been demonstrated in some, but not all, schizophrenic patients. The discovery that some schizophrenics develop antibodies to gluten that are distinct from those found in celiac patients suggests that gluten's role in schizophrenia, if any, is complex. It is not clear if adopting a gluten-free diet will alleviate schizophrenic symptoms if you are also gluten-sensitive. The November 1997 issue of "Journal of Internal Medicine" cited a case report where schizophrenia resolved in one celiac patient who was placed on a gluten-free diet. Ask your doctor if you should avoid gluten.
References
- "American Family Physician"; Schizophrenia: A Review; S.H. Schultz, et al.; June 2007
- "American Family Physician"; Celiac Disease; R.J. Presutti, et al; December 2007
- "BMC Neuroscience"; Dysregulation of Chemo-cytokine Production in Schizophrenic Patients versus Healthy Controls; M. Reale, et al.; January 2011
- "Schizophrenia Research"; Novel Immune Response to Gluten in Individuals with Schizophrenia; D. Samaroo, et al.; May 2010
- "Journal of Internal Medicine"; Schizophrenic Symptoms and SPECT Abnormalities in a Coeliac Patient: Regression after a Gluten-Free Diet; A. De Santis, et al.; November 1997
