Relationship between Celiac Disease Markers and Gastrointestinal Disease in Children with Autism

Aim This study was designed to determine if there is a relationship between celiac disease (CD) and the presence of gastrointestinal disease (GI) disease in children with autism. Subjects and Methods One hundred twenty-two children were tested for IgG and IgA anti-transglutaminase autoantibodies (55 autistic children with GI disease, 28 non autistic children with no GI disease, 30 autistic children with no GI disease, and 9 non autistic children with GI Disease). We also compared the presence/level of these autoantibodies to presence of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and level of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT). Results We did not find a significant difference in the level of anti-transglutaminase IgG or IgA in autistic children with GI disease compared to controls. However, we found a significant relationship between the presence of ANCA and low-level IgG anti-transglutaminase IgG in children with autism and GI disease. Discussion Although there appears to be no relationship between these celiac disease markers and the presence of GI disease in autistic children, these results suggest a possible association between sub diagnostic levels of anti-transglutaminase IgG and the presence of ANCA, and therefore, supports the hypothesis that there is a generalized autoimmune dysfunction in autistic children with GI disease.