Background:
Celiac disease is described in
association with several
autoimmune diseases, but rarely with
myasthenia gravis. Case
report We describe the case of a 31-year-old
white woman with
celiac disease who presented manifestations related to a hyperactive
immune system, including
macroamylasemia, falsepositive anti-HCV, positive
antinuclear antibody, and Raynauds phenomenon. The introduction of a
gluten-free diet (GFD) resolved these features, but
myasthenia gravis (MG) symptoms unexpectedly occurred on that occasion.
Discussion:
The
role of a GFD in the
course of
autoimmune diseases has been studied and improvement has been reported in many
diseases. However, there is no
consensus in the
literature regarding the
course of
neurological disorders associated with
celiac disease. In the present case, a GFD did not prevent the appearance of symptoms related to
myasthenia gravis. There are few
reports on the
association of
celiac disease with
myasthenia gravis and therefore little is known about the
course and
time of onset of myasthenia in celiac
patients. The present case increases the
knowledge about this unusual autoimmune neurological
disease associated with
celiac disease (AU)