Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

SAGE Publications, Journal of Child Neurology, 7(26), p. 876-880, 2011

DOI: 10.1177/0883073810390038

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Spinal Cord Calcification in an Early-Onset Progressive Leukoencephalopathy

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Spinal cord calcifications are an unusual finding in pediatric neurology. We here describe a young child who presented severe psychomotor delay, tetraplegia, deafness, and anemia. Neuroradiological investigations revealed severe leukodystrophy and unusual calcifications in the cerebral white matter and all along the medullary pathways. Common infectious and metabolic diseases were ruled out. A mild reduction in the activity of several respiratory chain complexes was documented on muscle biopsy. Of interest, we found an intronic variant in DARS2, a gene involved in mitochondrial DNA translation, responsible for the syndrome of leukoencephalopathy with brainstem and spinal cord involvement and high brain lactate. In our opinion, our case, and probably 2 previously reported Japanese siblings with a picture very similar to that of our patient, could represent a new, progressive leukoencephalomyelopathy.