Adult-onset autosomal dominant leukodystrophy (ADLD) appears around age 40 or 50. It prevents brain cell development and myelin production. ADLD causes problems with movement and cognition (thinking and remembering). It also affects involuntary (automatic) body functions like blood pressure and heart rate.

What are the effects of leukodystrophy?

Leukodystrophy can cause problems with movement, vision, hearing, balance, ability to eat, memory, behavior, and thought. Leukodystrophies are progressive diseases meaning that the symptoms of the disease tend to get worse over time. Some inherited leukoencephalopathies have stable white matter abnormalities.

What is the life expectancy of someone with white matter disease?

It is not possible to stop disease progression, and it is typically fatal within 6 months to 4 years of symptom onset. People with the juvenile form of metachromatic leukodystrophy, which develops between the age of 4 and adolescence, may live for many years after diagnosis.