neurologic disorders
Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia
Introduction
Hereditary spastic paraplegia is a group of rare hereditary disorders characterized by progressive, spinal, nonsegmental spastic leg paresis, sometimes with intellectual disability, seizures, and other extraspinal deficits. Diagnosis is clinical and sometimes by genetic testing. Treatment is symptomatic, including medications to relieve spasticity. (See also Overview of Spinal Cord Disorders .) The genetic basis of hereditary spastic paraplegia varies and, for many forms, is unknown. In all forms, the descending corticospinal tracts and, to a lesser extent, the dorsal columns and spinocerebellar tracts degenerate, sometimes with loss of anterior horn cells. Onset can be at any age, from the first year of life to old age, depending on the specific genetic form. Hereditary spastic paraplegia affects both sexes. 