Fazio-Londe disease, also called progressive bulbar palsy of childhood, is an inherited motor neuron disease found in children and young adults.
Progressive bulbar palsy is characterized by progressive paralysis of muscles innervated by cranial nerves.
It produces rapidly progressive weakness of tongue, face and pharyngeal muscles in a clinical pattern similar to myasthenia bulbar palsy. Neuromuscular transmission may be abnormal in these muscles because of rapid denervation and immature reinervation, and strength may improve with administration of cholinesterase inhibitors. Paralysis occurs secondary to degeneration of the motor neurons of the brain stem. It causes progressive bulbar paralysis due to involvement of motor neurons of the cranial nerve nuclei. The most frequent symptoms at onset of progressive bulbar paralysis of childhood has been a unilateral facial paralysis. It is followed in frequency by dysarthria due to facial weakness or by dysphagia. Palatal weakness and palpebral ptosis also have been reported in few patients. Both sexes can be affected.
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