Psychiatric Onset Alexander Disease: An Important Challenge in Neuropsychiatric Diagnosis

Abstract

Introduction: Alexander disease is a heterogenous group of diseases with various manifestations based on age of disease onset. This rare leukodystrophy syndrome with mutations in GFAP Gene could present with developmental delay and seizure in infantile form to ataxia and bulbar palsy in adulthood. However psychiatric symptoms are not well-defined and usually evaluate after disease diagnosis not before disease investigations. Case report: Our patient is a fifty-two-year-old Iranian woman with history of depression from about 17 years ago, suicidal attempt two years ago and ingestion a large amount of opium with the intention of suicide 2 months ago who was presented with disorientation and probably delirious state in the last interview. Eventually in comprehensive investigations, white matter hyperintensity and leukodystrophy was diagnosed and ultimately to determine the cause of these changes with gene study, whole and Exon deletion of GFAP Gene Late Onset Alexander disease was determined. Conclusion: Neurological-onset manifestation of Alexander disease specifically late onset form is the most common clinical picture of disease and was seen in about 90% of patients but psychiatric symptoms are not well-known and psychiatric- onset disease was not described yet. On the other hand, various Gene Mutation were described in Late Onset Alexander Disease, however large whole Exon deletion which was revealed in our patient is a novel mutation and significantly need to be declared. Here authors describe a late onset Alexander disease with psychiatric onset symptoms and novel large Exon deletion in GFAP Gene.