Longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) in children: A twenty-year study from Oman.

OBJECTIVE: The data on children with diagnosis of idiopathic transverse myelitis (ITM) was searched to find the pattern of myelitis in Oman. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out from January1995 to December 2014. Electronic medical records and patient medical files were seen to get the complete data of the children with ITM. This work was carried out at Sultan Qaboos University hospital, Muscat, Oman. The ethical committee of the hospital had approved the study. The diagnosis was based on the established criteria. Other causes of myelopathy were excluded. RESULTS: 19 children with idiopathic transverse myelitis were found. There were 18 out of 19 (94.6%) children with longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (LETM). CONCLUSION: Longitudinal transverse extensive myelitis is the most common form of ITM in Oman.

Clinical Spectrum of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia in Children: A study of 74 cases.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to explore the spectrum of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) in children in Oman. METHODS: This retrospective study was carried out between January 1994 and August 2011 on children with delayed development, gait disorders and motor handicaps, with signs of symmetrical pyramidal tract involvement. A detailed perinatal and family history, including the age of onset of symptoms, was recorded. The children were labelled as having either the pure or complicated form of HSP based on the established diagnostic criteria. In families with more than one affected child, parents and all other siblings were also examined. RESULTS: Within the study, 74 children from 31 families were diagnosed with HSP. Parental consanguinity was seen in 91% of cases, with 44 children (59.4%) experiencing onset of the disease under one year of age. Complicated HSP was the most common type, seen in 81.1%. Speech involvement, mental retardation, and epilepsy were the most common associated abnormalities. Nonspecific white matter changes and corpus callosum abnormalities were noted in 24.3% of cases on magnetic resonance imaging. CONCLUSION: The study described clinical features of 74 children with HSP. Autosomal recessive complicated HSP was seen in 81.1% of cases.