Hereditary leukodystrophy and leukoencephalopathy

The group of diseases combines hundreds of hereditary diseases in children that occur with damage to the white matter of the brain. The cumulative incidence of these diseases is up to 1:20,000 of the population. In most cases, the onset of the disease occurs in the first years of a child's life, but there is also a later onset of symptoms. With an early onset of the disease, the main manifestations are: delayed psychomotor development; children lose previously acquired motor, speech and other skills; certain forms of leukodystrophy and leukoencephalpathy occur with accelerated head growth and visual impairment, for example, nystagmus - "trembling" of the eyeballs when following a nearby object. At the onset of the disease at an older age, gait disturbance, increased muscle tone, swallowing disorders, the appearance of paresis and paralysis of the limbs, decreased memory, attention, mental disorders, and loss of skills are characteristic. The main difference between this group of diseases and others is that magnetic resonance imaging of the brain reveals a symmetrical lesion of the white matter.