Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration
Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN, formerly Hallervorden–Spatz syndrome), is a disorder characterized by iron accumulation in the brain. The estimated incidence is about 1–3 per million. The cause is a mutation in the PANK2 gene. In fact, PKAN is one of the most common disorders with iron accumulation in the brain (NBIA) causing deterioration of normal neurological development. In PKAN normal movement, balance, speech, vision, cognition, and behaviour are progressively affected. As a result, most children lose the ability to move independently by age 10 years, in 'classic' PKAN. Visual impairment is common in PKAN. This feature may follow earlier signs of the neurological disease in most individuals with PKAN.