Thiamine metabolism dysfunction syndrome-4 (THMD4) is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder characterized by childhood onset of episodic encephalopathy, often associated with a febrile illness, and causing transient neurologic dysfunction. Most patients recover fully, but some may have mild residual weakness. Affected individuals also develop a slowly progressive axonal polyneuropathy beginning in childhood. Brain imaging during the acute episodes shows lesions consistent with bilateral striatal degeneration or necrosis (summary by Spiegel et al., 2009). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of disorders due to thiamine metabolism dysfunction, see THMD1 (249270).