Hallervorden Spatz disease.

The case report on Hallervorden Spatz disease (HSD)(1) aroused interest, particularly because we are currently managing a child with this disease in our Pediatric Neurology Clinic. Although the authors have rightly suspected the condition, they have not presented parameters on the basis of which the diagnosis was made. Absence of criteria for Wilson's disease and presence of family history of similar illness, does not automatically make this a case of HSD. There are other causes of progressive dystonia which may also be familial. Acanthocytosis is not a feature of HSD; in fact only 2 out of 64 cases of HSD reported earlier showed acanthocytosis(2). Familial acanthocytosis, however, is an important hereditary neurodegenerative disease associated with progressive dystonia.