Leukoencephalopathy with Vanishing White Matter (VWM)

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MedlinePlus Genetics: ⁴² Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter is a progressive disorder that mainly affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). This disorder causes deterioration of the central nervous system's white matter, which consists of nerve fibers covered by myelin. Myelin is the fatty substance that insulates and protects nerves.In most cases, people with leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter show no signs or symptoms of the disorder at birth. Affected children may have slightly delayed development of motor skills such as crawling or walking. During early childhood, most affected individuals begin to develop motor symptoms, including abnormal muscle stiffness (spasticity) and difficulty with coordinating movements (ataxia). There may also be some deterioration of mental functioning, but this is not usually as pronounced as the motor symptoms. Some affected females may have abnormal development of the ovaries (ovarian dysgenesis). Specific changes in the brain as seen using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are characteristic of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter, and may be visible before the onset of symptoms.While childhood onset is the most common form of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter, some severe forms are apparent at birth. A severe, early-onset form seen among the Cree and Chippewayan populations of Quebec and Manitoba is called Cree leukoencephalopathy. Milder forms may not become evident until adolescence or adulthood, when behavioral or psychiatric problems may be the first signs of the disease. Some females with milder forms of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter who survive to adolescence exhibit ovarian dysfunction. This variant of the disorder is called ovarioleukodystrophy.Progression of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter is generally uneven, with periods of relative stability interrupted by episodes of rapid decline. People with this disorder are particularly vulnerable to stresses such as infection, mild head trauma or other injury, or even extreme fright. These stresses may trigger the first symptoms of the condition or worsen existing symptoms, and can cause affected individuals to become lethargic or comatose.

MalaCards based summary: Leukoencephalopathy with Vanishing White Matter, also known as vanishing white matter disease, is related to childhood ataxia with central nervous system hypomyelination / vanishing white matter and leukodystrophy, and has symptoms including lethargy, personality changes and seizures. An important gene associated with Leukoencephalopathy with Vanishing White Matter is EIF2B5 (Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 2B Subunit Epsilon), and among its related pathways/superpathways are Metabolism of proteins and Apoptotic Pathways in Synovial Fibroblasts. Affiliated tissues include spinal cord, brain and thalamus, and related phenotypes are brain imaging abnormality and dysmyelinating leukodystrophy

UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot: ⁷³ A leukodystrophy that occurs mainly in children. Neurological signs include progressive cerebellar ataxia, spasticity, inconstant optic atrophy and relatively preserved mental abilities. The disease is chronic-progressive with, in most individuals, additional episodes of rapid deterioration following febrile infections or minor head trauma. While childhood onset is the most common form of the disorder, some severe forms are apparent at birth. A severe, early-onset form seen among the Cree and Chippewayan populations of Quebec and Manitoba is called Cree leukoencephalopathy. Milder forms may not become evident until adolescence or adulthood. Some females with milder forms of the disease who survive to adolescence exhibit ovarian dysfunction. This variant of the disorder is called ovarioleukodystrophy.

Orphanet: ⁵⁸ A new leukoencephalopathy, the CACH syndrome (Childhood Ataxia with Central nervous system Hypomyelination) or VWM (Vanishing White Matter) was identified on clinical and MRI criteria. Classically, this disease is characterized by (1) an onset between 2 and 5 years of age, with a cerebello-spastic syndrome exacerbated by episodes of fever or head trauma leading to death after 5 to 10 years of disease evolution, (2) a diffuse involvement of the white matter on cerebral MRI with a CSF-like signal intensity (cavitation), (3) a recessive autosomal mode of inheritance, (4) neuropathologic findings consistent with a cavitating orthochromatic leukodystrophy with increased number of oligodendrocytes with sometimes ``foamy'' aspect.

OMIM®: ⁵⁷ Vanishing white matter leukodystrophy is an autosomal recessive neurologic disorder characterized by variable neurologic features, including progressive cerebellar ataxia, spasticity, and cognitive impairment associated with white matter lesions on brain imaging. The age at onset can range from early infancy to adulthood. Rapid neurologic deterioration can occur following minor head trauma. Female mutation carriers may develop ovarian failure, manifest as primary amenorrhea or as secondary amenorrhea lasting more than 6 months, associated with elevated gonadotropin levels at age less than 40 years (summary by Van der Knaap et al., 1998 and Schiffmann et al., 1997). (603896) (Updated 08-Dec-2022)

GARD: ¹⁹ Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter is a progressive disorder that mainly affects the central nervous system (CNS). This disorder causes deterioration of white matter, which consists of nerve fibers covered by myelin (the substance that protects the nerves). Symptoms may include difficulty coordinating movements (ataxia); muscle stiffness (spasticity); and optic atrophy. Symptoms may worsen with episodes of fever, after head trauma, or with other stresses on the body. This disorder may be caused by genetic changes in any of 5 genes and is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.

Disease Ontology: ¹¹ A leukodystrophy characterized by variable neurologic features resulting from deficiency in astrocyte maturation, including progressive cerebellar ataxia, spasticity, and cognitive impairment associated with white matter lesions on brain imaging with onset from early infancy to adulthood that has material basis in homozygous or compound heterozygous mutation in any of the 5 genes encoding subunits of the translation initiation factor EIF2B: EIF2B1 on chromosome 12q24, EIF2B2 on chromosome 14q24, EIF2B3 on chromosome 1p34, EIF2B4 on chromosome 2p23, or EIF2B5 on chromosome 3q27.

Wikipedia: ⁷⁵ Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter (VWM disease) is an autosomal recessive neurological... more...

Clinical features from OMIM®:

Search NIH Clinical Center for Leukoencephalopathy with Vanishing White Matter