A case of X-linked agammaglobulinemia with progressive encephalitis.

This report describes a case of agammaglobulinemia with progressive encephalitis. The patient was a 6-year-old male who was diagnosed as having Bruton-type agammaglobulinemia at age 6 months. After the diagnosis was made, he received monthly intravenous immunoglobulin replacement with a residual immunoglobulin G level of more than 400 mg/dL. At 5 years of age, he presented with symptoms of mental deterioration and gait disturbance. He had no history of infection of the central nervous system. Brain biopsy revealed CD8-positive T-cell infiltration with cortical damage, but no infectious agents were observed by either immunohistochemistry or virus isolation. Treatment with subcutaneous interferon-alpha and high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin was begun, and clinical symptoms improved within a month. Hence, patients with agammaglobulinemia should be carefully monitored for complications of the central nervous system even if there is no history of infection.

A case of megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (van der Knaap disease): molecular genetic study.

Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by macrocephaly, deterioration of motor function with ataxia, spasticity and mental decline. It has been revealed that the mutations in the gene, KIAA0027, were responsible for MLC and the gene was renamed subsequently 'MLC1'. A 41-year-old Japanese male with MLC, in whom a homozygous missense mutation, TCG to TTG at codon 93 resulting in S93L, was detected in the MLC1 gene, was described. MRI revealed marked cerebral atrophy and enlargement of the ventricular system. The subject's motor function had severely deteriorated, while his cognitive function had maintained at the level of a 2-year-old for the past 10 years. The mutation in the MLC1 gene of the patient is considered to be a common mutation responsible for MLC in Japanese patients because the same mutation had been detected in two other Japanese patients with MLC.