Membranous lipodystrophy. A case report

The case is described of a 35-year-old housewife diagnosed as having membranous lipodystrophy (as described by Nasu et al. in 1970 and called lipomembranous polycystic osteodysplasia by Hakola in 1972). The main symptom of this patient was a slowly progressive dementia. Skeletal symptoms were not seen. The computerized tomogram of the brain showed calcification of bilateral basal ganglia and the plain roentgenograms of the bones revealed cystic radiolucent areas at the distal end of the bones of the patient's extremities. Histological examination of the curretted material from the right talus revealed fa 'membranocystic' pattern. The fatty tissue curetted from the cyst of the talus and the lysosomal enzymes of the white blood cells were biochemically normal. A possible relationship between this disease entity and connective disorders is considered.