Leigh's subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy: possible diagnosis by CT scan

A 28-month-old Korean girl developed a rapidly progressive disease, characterized by disturbance of consciousness, tremor, nystagmus, ophthalmoplegia, irregular deep respiration and vomiting. The patient succumbed 2 weeks after the onset of the illness. CT scan disclosed bilaterally symmetrical, low density lesions in the white matter and lateral basal ganglia. Distinctive histopathological findings at postmortem included spongiotic necrosis of the neuropil, marked capillary vascularity, persistence of relatively normal neurons in severely damaged zones, and comparatively little astrocytosis. The bilaterally symmetrical distribution of these changes in the putamen and periaqueductal gray matter of the midbrain were compatible with Leigh's disease.