Osmiophilic deposits in cytosomes in Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome

A young child with Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome is presented. She was well until 8 years of age when she lost interest in activities and her school performance declined. At age 11 years, she began having episodes of blepharospasm, accompanied by bilateral ptosis and occasional episodes of oculogyric crisis. By age 12 years, her motor coordination had declined and she began to exhibit evidence of dementia, dystonia, dysarthria, and tremor. Motor incoordination, dystonia, and tremor progressed until the patient was wheel-chair-bound. Multiple tests were performed, including metabolic studies, magnetic resonance imaging, bone marrow biopsy, and electron microscopy of the buffy coat. Both bone marrow and buffy coat revealed inclusions in the cytosomes which were granular and osmiophilic. To our knowledge, this is the third case report of inclusion bodies found in patients with manifestations of Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome. These findings suggest that obtaining a buffy coat and bone marrow biopsy may aid in the diagnosis of Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome and ultimately provide information regarding etiology.