Late infantile Krabbe leukodystrophy: MRI and evoked potentials in a Japanese girl.

A Japanese girl showed deterioration in development from the age of 13 months. At the age of 16 months, there were mild spastic diplegia, increase in cerebrospinal fluid protein to 61.5 mg/dl and deficient galactosylceramidase I. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a high signal intensity with increased T2 in the centrum semiovale. Short latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) showed a prolonged N13-N20 interpeak latency followed by abolition of N20. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) were normally followed by prolonged interpeak latencies of wave I-V. This may be the first report of what we consider to be the late infantile form of Krabbe disease with MRI and evoked potential examinations.