Adrenoleukodystrophy. Report of an autopsy case with adrenoleukomyeloneuropathy

The patient was a 27-year-old man who developed spastic quadriplegia and cerebral disorders. Initial signs were gait disturbance, spastic paraplegia, and sphincter disturbance; these occurred when he was 21. Upon autopsy, the white matter of the brain and spinal cord showed diffuse demyelination, and the adrenal glands and right testis were atrophic. Cytoplasmic striations seen by light microscopy and trilamellar inclusions seen by electron microscopy were found in ballooned adrenocortical cells. Trilamellar inclusions were also observed in macrophages of the affected cerebral white matter. Biochemical analysis disclosed a high ratio (0.27) of hexacosanoic acid (C26:0) to docosanoic acid (C22:0) in cerebrosides and sulfatides of the cerebrum. The histological features as well as the result of biochemical analysis were those of classical adrenoleukodystrophy. However, the time of the onset of clinical signs and the duration of the disease were different in the present case from classical adrenoleukodystrophy. The case presented here was diagnosed as adrenoleukomyeloneuropathy, which is a variant of adrenoleukodystrophy.