Necrotising haemorrhagic encephalomyelopathy in an adult: Leigh's disease

A 21 year old male, well-nourished and non-alcoholic, died after five weeks illness. He had suffered epileptic fits, bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia, bulbar and pontine paralysis, tetraparesia, ataxia and dystonia. A CT brain scan showed low density lesions of the striatum bilaterally. Post-mortem studies revealed pathological anomalies compatible with Leigh's disease, although the presence of haemorrhages and involvement of the mamillary bodies could also suggest Wernicke's encephalopathy.