CLINICAL AND PARACLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEREDITARY SPASTIC PARAPLEGIA (STRÜMPELL DISEASE) IN CHILDREN AND OPTIMIZATION OF EARLY DIAGNOSTIC APPROACHES

Abstract

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) represents a genetically heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by progressive lower-limb spasticity, hyperreflexia, and dysfunction of corticospinal tracts. In pediatric practice, HSP is frequently misdiagnosed as spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (CP), largely due to overlapping clinical manifestations at early stages, leading to delayed diagnosis and ineffective or incorrect therapeutic approaches.