Neuroacanthocytosis - Pantothenate Kinase-associated Neurodegeneration

Pantothenate Kinase-associated Neurodegeneration

Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) is a disease characterized by brain iron accumulation and progressive difficulty with movement. The symptoms of this disease are mostly consistent with the general symptoms of neuroacanthocytosis disorders. The affected individual may develop dementia and experience problems with vision loss. There is a classical version of PKAN and an atypical version in which onset occurs much later and is less severe. Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration was formerly known as Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome after two German neuropathologists but the term is no longer used because of the unethical activities these men participated in both before and during World War II.