Increased Risk of Neuropathy in Patients with Celiac Disease

JAMA: Celiac disease, which results from a sensitivity to gluten, was associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk of neuropathy (nerve damage), according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology. Celiac disease is common in the general population with an estimated prevalence of 1 percent. The association between celiac disease and neuropathy was first reported nearly 50 years ago, according to the study background. Jonas F. Ludvigsson, M.D., Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and coauthors examined the risk of developing neuropathy in a nationwide sample of patients in Sweden with biopsy-certified celiac disease.

Inherited gene variation leaves young leukemia patients at risk for peripheral neuropathy

St Jude Hospital. US: Researchers have identified the first genetic variation that is associated with increased risk and severity of peripheral neuropathy following treatment with a widely used anti-cancer drug. Investigators also found evidence of how it may be possible to protect young leukemia patients without jeopardizing cures. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.