[Brown-Vialleto-van Laere syndrome: report of 2 cases]

Brown-Vialetto-van Laere syndrome is a rare hereditary or sporadic degenerative disorder characterised by progressive sensoryneural deafness, followed or accompanied by cranial nerve palsies. The anterior horn cells and the optic pathways may be involved in some cases. We report two cases, and comment the differential diagnosis and the relationships of this syndrome to the muscle spinal atrophies and the hereditary deafness.