Adrenoleukodystrophy

Adrenoleukodystrophy (also known as X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy, ALD, X-ALD, Adrenomyeloneuropathy,AMN, Siemerling-Creutzfeldt Disease or Bronze Schilder Disease) is a disorder of peroxisomal fatty acid beta oxidation which results in the accumulation of very-long chain fatty acids in tissues throughout the body. The most severely affected tissues are the myelin in the central nervous system, the adrenal cortex and the Leydig cells in the testes. Clinically, ALD is a heterogenous disorder, presenting with several distinct phenotypes, and no clear pattern of genotype-phenotype correlation. As an X-linked disorder, ALD presents most commonly in males, however approximately 50% of heterozygote females show some symptoms later in life. Approximately one-third of ALD patients will present with the childhood cerebral form of the disease, which is the most severe form. It is characterized by normal development in early childhood, followed by rapid degeneration to a vegetative state. The other forms of ALD vary in terms of onset and clinical severity, ranging from adrenal insufficiency to progressive paraparesis in early adulthood (this form of the disease is typically known as adrenomyeloneuropathy).