Nakalanga Syndrome: Clinical Characteristics, Potential Causes, and Its Relationship with Recently Described Nodding Syndrome.

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Kathrin Föger, Gina Gora-Stahlberg, James Sejvar, Emilio Ovuga, Louise Jilek-Aall, Erich Schmutzhard, Christoph Kaiser, Andrea S Winkler
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005201; https://doaj.org/article/ab8bcba74cb54d1c88122c4592bbdc83

Nakalanga syndrome is a condition that was described in Uganda and various other African countries decades ago. Its features include growth retardation, physical deformities, endocrine dysfunction, mental impairment, and epilepsy, amongst others. Its cause remains obscure. Nodding syndrome is a neurological disorder with some features in common with Nakalanga syndrome, which has been described mainly in Uganda, South Sudan, and Tanzania. It has been considered an encephalopathy affecting children who, besides head nodding attacks, can also present with stunted growth, delayed puberty, and mental impairment, amongst other symptoms. Despite active research over the last years on the pathogenesis of Nodding syndrome, to date, no convincing single cause of Nodding syndrome has been reported. In this review, by means of a thorough literature search, we compare features of both disorders. We conclude that Nakalanga and Nodding syndromes are closely related and may represent the same condition. Our findings may provide new directions in research on the cause underlying this neurological disorder.