[Epilepsy, cerebral calcifications and celiac disease].

Epilepsy, frequently with complex partial seizures, is observed in 5.5 p. 100 of all cases of celiac sprue. Bilateral parieto-occipital calcifications in the cortical or subcortical areas are found in about one-half of these patients. This triple association is apparently not fortuitous. Prognosis of epilepsy would depend on how early the gluten-free diet was started. The diagnosis of celiac sprue should be entertained in patients with brain calcifications and epilepsy. Search for anti-endomysium antibodies could provide useful information although villosity atrophy in the proximal portion of the small bowel and its regression with gluten-free diet remain the essential elements for the diagnosis of celiac sprue.