leukodystrophy

noun leu·ko·dys·tro·phy \ ˌlü-kō-ˈdi-strə-fē \

|Updated on: 31 Jul 2018

Definition of leukodystrophy

plural leukodystrophies

: any of several genetically determined diseases characterized by progressive degeneration of myelin in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves

Recent Examples of leukodystrophy from the Web

Most children with metachromatic leukodystrophy don’t survive beyond their 8th birthday.

— vibhav rangarajan, STAT, "The ‘cruel joke’ of compassionate use and right to try: Pharma companies don’t have to comply," 5 June 2018
Children with the most severe form of metachromatic leukodystrophy develop symptoms like trouble walking or poor muscle tone before the age of 30 months.

— vibhav rangarajan, STAT, "The ‘cruel joke’ of compassionate use and right to try: Pharma companies don’t have to comply," 5 June 2018
Their daughter Beatrice had leukodystrophy, a progressive disease of the brain that left her unable to walk or talk.

— jim stingl, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Stingl: 'Victory in motion' — Widow with 9 kids graduates from Mount Mary and hopes to help other women," 1 June 2018
In 2013, Conte acted as the lawyer for the family of Sofia de Barros, a 4-year-old girl suffering from metachromatic leukodystrophy, an incurable disease of the nervous system.

— luca tancredi barone, Science | AAAS, "Italy’s new prime minister defended discredited stem cell therapy," 24 May 2018
That was the day a neurologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia explained how my 2-year-old daughter, Cal, had late infantile-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD).

— maria kefalas, STAT, "How much would you pay for the miracle of gene therapy?," 3 May 2018
That’s about 30 times the mortality rate of the leukodystrophy that Kefalas’ daughter is battling.

— helen ubiñas, Philly.com, "Right now we're dealing with the rarest form of the gun-violence disease | Helen Ubiñas," 27 Mar. 2018
Italian gene therapy researchers have reported comparable results for a similar treatment given to young patients with the brain disease metachromatic leukodystrophy.

— jocelyn kaiser, Science | AAAS, "Gene therapy’s new hope: A neuron-targeting virus is saving infant lives," 1 Nov. 2017
Waggoner ordered tests that would tell them definitively whether Kenan had leukodystrophy and, if so, which kind.

— amy dickinson, chicagotribune.com, "How Illinois bureaucracy robbed parents of a chance to save their children from a deadly disease," 4 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leukodystrophy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of leukodystrophy

1960

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Medical Dictionary

leukodystrophy

noun leu·ko·dys·tro·phy

variants: or chiefly British leucodystrophy play \ˌlü-kō-ˈdis-trə-fē\

medical Definition of leukodystrophy

plural leukodystrophies

: any of several inherited diseases (as adrenoleukodystrophy) characterized by progressive degeneration of myelin in the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves