title: Postmortem diagnosis of leukodystrophies.
abstract: Leukodystrophies are progressive disorders involving the development and maintenance of myelin in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Although relatively uncommon, leukodystrophic disorders may be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed during life, and may appear as "sudden death." In such instances, these victims may be referred to a forensic pathologist. In general, leukodystrophies are inherited in an autosomal recessive manner so that proper postmortem diagnosis by the forensic pathologist is extremely important to the decendant's family for future family planning.
authors.affiliation: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Louisville, KY, USA.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Handy
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burns
mesh_terms: D000326:Adrenoleukodystrophy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000328:Adult; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D025063:Chromosome Disorders; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000473:pathology; D007965:Leukodystrophy, Globoid Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*