Definition of Adrenoleukodystrophy

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a degenerative disorder of myelin, a complex fatty neural tissue that insulates many nerves of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Without myelin, nerves are unable to conduct an impulse, leading to increasing disability as myelin destruction increases and intensifies. The victims of ALD are always male, and the disease begins its expression around the ages 5 to 10. The disease is due to an X-linked inheritance of peroxisomes that cannot properly process long chain fatty acids in the brain.