Dr. Hadjivassiliou has conducted extensive research into gluten ataxia, having first described the condition in the 1990s after seeing a number of patients with unexplained balance and coordination problems. He began systematically testing these patients for gluten sensitivity using antigliadin antibodies and found a very high prevalence of antibodies in patients with ataxia, suggestive of a heightened immune response to gluten but not necessarily to a diagnosis of celiac disease.