A Case of Canavan Disease

Canavan disease, also known as van Bogaert-Bertrand disease, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by early an onset and a progressive spongyform degeneration of the brain, associated with an edema of the central nerve system, intramyelinic swelling and neurologic symptoms. This disorder is most prevalent in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent but has been observed in other ethnic groups. Patients have severe mental retardation, poor head control, macrocephaly and seizures. Canavan disease is caused by the accumulation of N-acetylaspartic acid(NAA) in the brain as the result of a deficiency of aspartoacylase(ASPA) activity. Most children are reported to have the infantile form, becoming symptomatic between three and six month of age, after unremarkable prenatal and perinatal course. We experienced a case of Canavan disease in a six day old female newborn baby, associated with seizure, degeneration of brain white matter and markedly elevated urine N-acetylaspartic acid(NAA) level. So, we report the case with a brief review of the related literature.

Canavan Disease 1례

저자들은 신생아기에 경련을 보였던 환아에서 소변의 N-acetylaspartic acid의 정량검사를 통해 확진하였으며, 뇌자기공명 소견상 뇌백질의 퇴행성변화를 보였던 Canavan 병 1례를 경험하였기에 문헌 고찰과 함께 보고하는 바이다.