Dermatoleukodystrophy with neuroaxonal spheroids

Arch Neurol. 1978 Jun;35(6):329-36. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1978.00500300003001.

Abstract

A Japanese brother and sister, the progeny of healthy parents, were born with thickened, wrinkled skin and died between the age of 2 and 3 years with a progressive cerebral disease characterized by generalized mental and motor impairment. Postmortem neuropathological studies disclosed a remarkable leukodystrophy in which multiple axonal spheroids were the outstanding feature. Ultrastructurally, the spheroids contained granules resembling ceroid-lipofuscin bodies. Similar granules were found in degenerating oligodendrocytes and in Schwann cells. The skin showed hypercellular and sclerotic features, suggestive of a genodermatosis. This combined neurologic and dermatologic syndrome, which, to our knowledge, has not hitherto been recognized, may well result from a genetically determined metabolic disorder, the nature of which still remains undisclosed.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Axons / ultrastructure*
  • Brain / pathology
  • Brain Diseases / congenital*
  • Brain Diseases / genetics
  • Brain Diseases / pathology
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Myelin Sheath / ultrastructure
  • Neurons / ultrastructure
  • Skin / pathology
  • Skin Abnormalities*