title: Epidermal naevus and segmental hypermelanosis associated with an intraspinal mass: overlap between different mosaic neuroectodermal syndromes.
abstract: The epidermal naevus syndrome is a neurocutaneous syndrome characterised by the association of epidermal naevi with central nervous system, skeletal, ocular or cardiovascular abnormalities. We report on a 1.75-year-old boy who presented with spastic diparesis, a partial paresis of the left forearm and macrocephaly. He had a large epidermal naevus along the cervical spine and a segmental hypermelanosis. MRI studies revealed a large intraspinal mass extending from the lower cervical to the upper thoracic spine. The condition of our patient demonstrates the overlap of the epidermal naevus syndrome with well-defined mosaic neuroectodermal phenotypes such as encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis, Feuerstein-Mims syndrome and Proteus syndrome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  we recommend evaluation of all patients with large epidermal naevi, especially in the head and neck region, for the presence of central nervous system abnormalities or neoplasms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. zakrzewski@talknet.de
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zakrzewski
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Luecke
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Bentele
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Hoeger
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*