Disorders That Can Cause Demyelination of the Central Nervous System
Category | Disorders |
|---|---|
Hereditary disorders | Krabbe disease and other leukodystrophies* Leber hereditary optic atrophy and related mitochondrial disorders Phenylketonuria and other aminoacidurias Tay-Sachs disease, Niemann-Pick disease, and Gaucher disease |
Hypoxia and ischemia | Carbon monoxide toxicity and other syndromes of delayed hypoxic cerebral demyelination Progressive subcortical ischemic demyelination |
Nutritional deficiencies | Demyelination of the corpus callosum (Marchiafava-Bignami disease) Osmotic demyelination syndrome† (formerly called central pontine myelinolysis) |
Direct viral invasion of CNS | Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy |
Primary demyelinating disorders | Monophasic disorders such as optic neuritis, acute transverse myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder Recurrent, progressive disorders (multiple sclerosis and its variants) |
Toxins, medications, and illicit drugs | Carbon monoxide 1]) 2]) |
* Some subtypes may also cause peripheral demyelination. | |
† Osmotic demyelination syndrome may also be caused by sodium fluxes. | |
CNS = central nervous system; HTLV-1 = human T-lymphotropic virus 1. | |