Gluten may cause brain inflammation in mice, a new study indicates, posing questions about the implications for humans.

The study is believed to be a world first, and was carried out by scientists from the University of Otago's Centre for Neuroendocrinology, and published in the Journal of Neuroendocrinology.

Lead researcher for the study Pprofessor Alexander Tups told Afternoons he results suggest moderating gluten might be beneficial for humans as well.

"It is quite possible that the same inflammation we found in mice could happen in humans" - professor Alexander Tups  (Audio File)

"Mice are an excellent model to study human physiology. They have a very similar circulatory, reproductive, digestive, hormonal and nervous system," Tups said.

"So, it is quite possible that the same inflammation we found in mice could happen in humans."

The study investigated whether a standard diet, referred to as a low fat diet (LFD), enriched with 4.5 percent gluten (matching human average daily consumption), or a high fat diet (HFD), enriched with 4.5 per cent gluten, altered body weight, metabolic markers or central inflammation in male mice.

Tups said it was known that a high fat diet could increase the number of particular immune cells in the brain

What he said was interesting was that both the standard and high fat diet saw increases in the number of a type of immune cells that indicates inflammation.

"This increased the number, and also the activity, of certain immune cells in the brain", Tups said.

Brain inflammation could be linked to an increased risk of obesity and diabetes.

And he believed brain inflammation could also be impacting the brain's control over body weight.

"When we get brain inflammation we believe that the brain cannot make this decision so easily anymore, and it's somehow disrupted and that then leads to this chronic increase in body weight."

If similar patterns of brain inflammation were found in humans, Tups said it was possible that diet choices such as eating an anti-inflammatory diet could help prevent it.

This story was originally published by RNZ