Familial spastic paraparesis/paraplegia (FSP) and hereditary spastic paraparesis/paraplegia (HSP)

Familial spastic paraparesis/paraplegia and hereditary spastic paraparesis/paraplegia are names applied to a group of degenerative neurological disorders characterized by specific walking problems. Physicians are now applying the diagnosis of hereditary spastic paraparesis/ paraplegia to patients whose leg muscles have symptoms of spasticity (stiffness and/or spasms), paraparesis (weakness), or paraplegia (paralysis), especially when similar symptoms occur in other members of the patient's family due to inherited DNA changes (hereditary symptoms). Currently physicians use the familial spastic paraparesis/paraplegia diagnosis for cases with similar symptoms that may result from family members' exposure to shared environmental factors, rather than to genetic causes. The MIHG continues its effort to link FSP/HSP-affected families to known markers and to search for evidence of new loci. The long-term goal of our study is better diagnosis and treatment for FSP/HSP.