Dr Iain Croall

PhD, MRes, BSc

Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine and Population Health

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

I.Croall@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 215 9151

Polaris

Full contact details

Dr Iain Croall
Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine and Population Health
Polaris
18 Claremont Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2TA

Profile: I am a cognitive neuroscientist with expertise in various forms of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and psychometric testing, which I have applied to study a variety of different conditions involving brain pathology and neurodegeneration. I joined the University of Sheffield in 2017, and since 2019 have been working here as a Research Fellow. I have previous postdoctoral experience at the University of Cambridge (2015-2017). Before that, I gained my PhD, masters (Neuroscience) and undergraduate (Psychology) degrees from Newcastle University.

Research interests

During my time at the University of Sheffield, I have predominantly been engaged in research examining how the brain is affected in gluten-related conditions. The Sheffield Institute of Gluten-Related Diseases (SIGReD) is world leading in this area of study. We conduct research to better understand brain pathology associated with coeliac disease, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, and other more severe forms of gluten-related phenotypes which are primarily neurological in nature, such as gluten ataxia and gluten encephalopathy.

This is generally an understudied field of research, and I have been excited to apply various forms of “advanced” MRI which are entirely novel in this context. Tools such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) generate highly-sensitive measures of white matter health, and have been integral in demonstrating the extent and pattern of injury to white matter tracts in patients with coeliac disease. We are also studying the utility of a new serological biomarker developed at Sheffield (transglutaminase 6 antibodies), which appears to be sensitive at identifying patients with gluten sensitivity who are at greater risk of neurological sequalae, including atrophy of the cerebellar grey matter and thalamus. I am currently running a project which uses advanced imaging in combination with cognitive testing to study if members of the general, healthy population who have other forms of gluten-specific antibodies (gliadin antibodies) show any evidence of “sub clinical” brain injury. This is extremely important to ascertain, as adopting the gluten-free diet is known to arrest any further progression of neurological damage in people at risk.

I have previous expertise working within clinical trial teams studying vascular dementia. Imaging abnormalities associated with this such as leukoaraiosis, microbleeds and lacunes appear to have a synergy with coeliac disease, where similar findings are reported alongside an increased risk of vascular dementia.

Workstreams include:

Multi-modal MRI (including diffusion, perfusion, spectroscopy and volumetric study).
Vascular-related brain pathologies.
Cognitive test administration and assessment.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Featured publications

Journal articles

Croall ID, Sanders DS, Hadjivassiliou M & Hoggard N (2020) Cognitive Deficit and White Matter Changes in Persons With Celiac Disease: A Population-Based Study. Gastroenterology, 158(8), 2112-2122. View this article in WRRO
Hadjivassiliou M, Croall ID, Zis P, Sarrigiannis PG, Sanders DS, Aeschlimann P, Grünewald RA, Armitage PA, Connolly D, Aeschlimann D & Hoggard N (2019) Neurologic Deficits in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Celiac Disease are Frequent and Linked With Autoimmunity to TG6. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 17(13), 2678-2686. View this article in WRRO
Croall ID, Tozer DJ, Moynihan B, Khan U, O’Brien JT, Morris RG, Cambridge VC, Barrick TR, Blamire AM, Ford GA & Markus HS (2018) Effect of Standard vs Intensive Blood Pressure Control on Cerebral Blood Flow in Small Vessel Disease. JAMA Neurology, 75(6), 720-720.
Croall ID, Cowie CJA, He J, Peel A, Wood J, Aribisala BS, Mitchell P, Mendelow AD, Smith FE, Millar D , Kelly T et al (2014) White matter correlates of cognitive dysfunction after mild traumatic brain injury. Neurology, 83(6), 494-501.

All publications

Journal articles

Cotton C, Raju SA, Ahmed H, Webster G, Hallam R, Croall I, Coleman S, Trott N, Rej A, Shiha MG , Aziz I et al (2023) Does a gluten-free diet improve quality of life and sleep in patients with non-coeliac gluten/wheat sensitivity?. Nutrients, 15(15).
Ahmed H, Hallam R, Webster G, Rej A, Croall ID, Coleman SH, Key T, Buckle R, Shaw CC, Goodwin J , Aziz I et al (2021) NCGS like IBS ‘type’ symptoms is a diagnosis of exclusion. Nutrition Journal, 20(1). View this article in WRRO
Markus HS, Egle M, Croall ID, Sari H, Khan U, Hassan A, Harkness K, MacKinnon A, O’Brien JT, Morris RG , Barrick TR et al (2021) PRESERVE: Randomized Trial of Intensive Versus Standard Blood Pressure Control in Small Vessel Disease. Stroke, 52(8), 2484-2493.
Hadjivassiliou M, Croall ID, Grünewald RA, Trott N, Sanders DS & Hoggard N (2021) Neurological evaluation of patients with newly diagnosed coeliac disease presenting to gastroenterologists : a 7-year follow-up study. Nutrients, 13(6). View this article in WRRO
Croall ID, Hoggard N & Hadjivassiliou M (2021) Gluten and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nutrients, 13(2). View this article in WRRO
Hadjivassiliou M & Croall I (2021) Neurological manifestations of gluten sensitivity, 67-79.
Croall ID, Hoggard N, Aziz I, Hadjivassiliou M & Sanders DS (2020) Brain fog and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity: Proof of concept brain MRI pilot study. PLoS ONE, 15(8). View this article in WRRO
Croall ID, Tooth C, Venneri A, Poyser C, Sanders DS, Hoggard N & Hadjivassiliou M (2020) Cognitive impairment in coeliac disease with respect to disease duration and gluten-free diet adherence : a pilot study. Nutrients, 12(7). View this article in WRRO
Croall ID, Sanders DS, Hadjivassiliou M & Hoggard N (2020) Cognitive Deficit and White Matter Changes in Persons With Celiac Disease: A Population-Based Study. Gastroenterology, 158(8), 2112-2122. View this article in WRRO
Hadjivassiliou M, Croall ID, Zis P, Sarrigiannis PG, Sanders DS, Aeschlimann P, Grünewald RA, Armitage PA, Connolly D, Aeschlimann D & Hoggard N (2019) Neurologic Deficits in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Celiac Disease are Frequent and Linked With Autoimmunity to TG6. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 17(13), 2678-2686. View this article in WRRO
(2019) Genetic variation in PLEKHG1 is associated with white matter hyperintensities (n = 11,226). Neurology, 93(13), 608.1-608.
Croall I, Trott N, Rej A, Aziz I, O'Brien D, George H, Hossain M, Marks L, Richardson J, Rigby R , Hadjivassiliou M et al (2019) A population survey of dietary attitudes towards gluten. Nutrients, 11(6). View this article in WRRO
Croall I, Aziz I, Trott N, Paola T, Hoggard N, Sanders D, Rej A & Hadjivassiliou M (2019) Gluten does not induce gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy volunteers; A double blind randomised placebo trial. Gastroenterology. View this article in WRRO
Traylor M, Tozer DJ, Croall ID, Lisiecka Ford DM, Olorunda AO, Boncoraglio G, Dichgans M, Lemmens R, Rosand J, Rost NS , Rothwell PM et al (2019) Genetic variation in PLEKHG1 is associated with white matter hyperintensities (n = 11,226). Neurology, 92(8), e749-e757.
Croall ID, Tozer DJ, Moynihan B, Khan U, O’Brien JT, Morris RG, Cambridge VC, Barrick TR, Blamire AM, Ford GA & Markus HS (2018) Effect of Standard vs Intensive Blood Pressure Control on Cerebral Blood Flow in Small Vessel Disease. JAMA Neurology, 75(6), 720-720.
Croall ID, Lohner V, Moynihan B, Khan U, Hassan A, O'Brien JT, Morris RG, Tozer DJ, Cambridge VC, Harkness K , Werring D et al (2017) Using DTI to assess white matter microstructure in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease (SVD) in multi-centre studies.. Clinical Science, 131(12), 1361-1373. View this article in WRRO
Croall I, Smith FE & Blamire AM (2015) Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for Traumatic Brain Injury. Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 24(5), 267-274.
Croall ID, Cowie CJA, He J, Peel A, Wood J, Aribisala BS, Mitchell P, Mendelow AD, Smith FE, Millar D , Kelly T et al (2014) White matter correlates of cognitive dysfunction after mild traumatic brain injury. Neurology, 83(6), 494-501.
Hadjivassiliou M, Grünewald R, Sanders D, Zis P, Croall I, Shanmugarajah P, Sarrigiannis P, Trott N, Wild G & Hoggard N () The Significance of Low Titre Antigliadin Antibodies in the Diagnosis of Gluten Ataxia. Nutrients, 10(10), 1444-1444.

Chapters

Hadjivassiliou M & Croall I (2021) Neurological manifestations of gluten sensitivity, Biotechnological Strategies for the Treatment of Gluten Intolerance (pp. 67-79). Elsevier

Conference proceedings papers

Webster G, Hallam R, Rej A, Croall ID, Coleman SH, Key T, Goodwin J, Aziz I & Sanders DS (2021) P269 The first case-control study comparing diagnostic outcomes in irritable bowel syndrome and self-reported gluten sensitivity. Posters
Hallam R, Webster G, Rej A, Croall ID, Coleman SH, Key T, Goodwin J, Aziz I & Sanders DS (2021) P268 NCGS patients are less likely to adhere to a GFD than patients with coeliac disease. Posters
Markus HS, Croall ID, Barrick TR, Moynihan B, Khan U, Cambridge VC, O'Brien JT, Dixit AK, Tozer DJ, Blamire AM & Ford GA (2017) The PRESERVE trial (perfusion substudy): intensive blood pressure lowering and cerebral blood flow in small vessel disease. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF STROKE, Vol. 12 (pp 14-15)

Research group: The majority of my research is conducted in collaboration with Professors Nigel Hoggard, Marios Hadjivassiliou and David Sanders, and Dr. Paul Armitage. This takes place under the overall stewardship of Professor Jim Wild.

Professional activities and memberships

Review editor for Frontiers in Psychology.

Projects

Current projects:

11/2019 - 01/2023. Gluten as a Risk Factor for Dementia (GLUDEM) project. Role: Chief Investigator and named grant holder.
09/2021 – 09/2023. “Neuropathology in gluten-related disorders; progression and treatment” Role: Chief Investigator.

Past projects:

2017-2019. Neuropsychological Consequences of Gluten Consumption in NCGS. Role: Chief Investigator.
2015-2017. “PRESERVE” clinical trial. Role: Research Associate.