title: Pediatric neurodegenerative white matter processes: leukodystrophies and beyond.
abstract: Pediatric neurodegenerative white matter processes are complex, numerous and result from a vast array of causes ranging from white matter injury or inflammation to congenital metabolic disorders. When faced with a neurodegenerative white matter process on neuroimaging, the first step for the radiologist is to determine whether the findings represent a congenital metabolic leukodystrophy or one of various other white matter processes. In this review we first describe a general approach to neurodegenerative white matter disorders. We will briefly describe a few white matter diseases that mimic metabolic leukodystrophies. In the second half of the review we discuss an approach to distinguishing and classifying white matter leukodystrophies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and The Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics, 1750 Independence Ave., Kansas City, MO 64106, USA. jphelan@kcumb.edu
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Phelan
authors.forename: Lisa H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Glasier
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology