Infantile onset of hereditary ascending spastic paralysis with bulbar involvement

Primary lateral sclerosis and hereditary spastic paraparesis are both rare neurodegenerative disorders characterized by progressive weakness and spasticity of the lower limbs, with involvement of the corticospinal tracts and sparing of anterior horn cells. We describe a consanguineous family in which three sons developed progressive paralysis of the lower extremities in infancy with subsequent involvement of the upper extremities and bulbar muscles but cognitive sparing. This family presents the nosologic difficulty of distinguishing between hereditary spastic paraparesis and primary lateral sclerosis. We suggest that the diagnosis in this family is hereditary primary lateral sclerosis. This is the first instance of familial occurrence of primary lateral sclerosis.