Canadian Medical Guide > Diseases > Musculoskeletal Diseases > Muscular Diseases > Mitochondrial Myopathies > Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathies > MELAS Syndrome Terms and Definitions

MELAS Syndrome

Medical Definition:	A mitochondrial disorder characterized by focal or generalized seizures, episodes of transient or persistent neurologic dysfunction resembling strokes, and ragged-red fibers on muscle biopsy. Affected individuals tend to be normal at birth through early childhood, then experience growth failure, episodic vomiting, and recurrent cerebral insults resulting in visual loss and hemiparesis. The cortical lesions tend to occur in the parietal and occipital lobes and are not associated with vascular occlusion. VASCULAR HEADACHE is frequently associated and the disorder tends to be familial. (From Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1992, Ch56, p117)
Guide Notes:	DF: MELAS
Previously Indexed:	Acidosis (1985-1986),Acidosis, Lactic (1987-1992),Brain Diseases (1985-1987),Brain Diseases, Metabolic (1987-1992),Cerebrovascular Disorders (1987-1992),Lactates (1985-1986),Mitochondria, Muscle (1984-1992),Neuromuscular Diseases (1987-1992)

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