Pediatria pre prax 1/2011

Leukoencephalopathy – a rare but serious brain white matter disease in children

In a review article the authors point out etiologically diverse disorders of the brain white matter and the importance of magnetic resonance imaging in their diagnosis. They remark periventricular postischemic leucomalacies and also inflammatory changes in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis ) and multiple sclerosis. They classify the most common neurodegenerative leukodystrophies and describe the clinical and neuroradiologigy findings on the X chromosome linked adrenoleukodystrophy.

Keywords: leukoencephalopathy, myelin, myelinisation, neurodegenerative leukodystrophy, magnetic resonance imaging.