Autosomal dominant leukoencephalopathy and subcortical ischemic stroke. A clinicopathological study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We recently described an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized mainly by recurrent strokes and neuroimaging evidence of leukoencephalopathy. We now report the pathological findings in one of the affected subjects.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 40-year-old woman experienced her first grand mal seizure in 1971. From 1983 on she suffered recurrent strokes, seizures, and psychiatric disturbances with depressions, manic episodes, and dementia. In 1988, after her fourth stroke, she became tetraplegic with a severe pseudobulbar palsy, and she died in 1990. Pathological examination disclosed a recent capsulolenticular hematoma, multiple small deep infarcts, a diffuse myelin loss and pallor of the hemispheric white matter, and a widespread vasculopathy of the small arteries penetrating the white matter. The arterial wall was markedly thickened with an extensive nonamyloid eosinophilic deposit in the media and reduplication of the internal elastic lamella.

CONCLUSIONS

The underlying lesion of this hereditary disorder is located in the small arteries and is of unknown etiology. It differs from arteriosclerotic and amyloid angiopathies but is similar to that described in some cases of hereditary multi-infarct dementia.