Lubag is an x-linked recessive dystonia parkinsonism that affects Filipino men 
originating principally from the Panay Island. Linkage analysis has confirmed 
the mode of inheritance and localized the disease gene to the proximal long arm 
of the x-chromosome. We studied the brain of a 34 year old Filipino man affected 
with lubag. He developed truncal dystonia at age 30, which subsequently 
generalized. With disease progression, he also presented with parkinsonism 
including, rigidity, bradykinesia, and impaired balance. His symptoms were 
largely unaffected by medication and, at age 34, he underwent a right 
cryothalamotomy. He died suddenly 2 days after the procedure. The principal 
neuropathological findings were neuronal loss and a multifocal mosaic pattern of 
astrocytosis restricted to the caudate and lateral putamen. Similar findings 
have been reported in two other men with dystonia--one Filipino and the other 
non-Filipino. The similar pathology of the two Filipino men suggests that this 
is the pathology of lubag. Recognition of this pathology in a non-Filipino man 
suggests that the mutation causing lubag may not be restricted to the Filipino 
population.