hereditary spastic paraplegia: from gene to clinic

objective hereditary spastic paraplegia (hsp) is a degenerative disease of genetic origin affecting the corticospinal tracts in the spinal cord. there are three forms of inheritance: autosomal dominant hsp, autosomal rececive hsp and x-linked hsp. this disease is characterized by progressive spasticity of leg muscles with varying degrees of stiffness and weakness of other muscle groups. in this review, we will discuss the latest findings on  the pathophysiology of axonal degeneration and all the responsible genetic defects in hsp.