The clinical course of BVVL can vary from one patient to another. There have been cases with progressive deterioration, deterioration followed by periods of stabilization, and deterioration with abrupt periods of increasing severity.

The syndrome has previously been considered to have a high mortality rate but the initial response of most patients to the Riboflavin protocol are very encouraging and seem to indicate a significantly improved life expectancy could be achievable. There are three documented cases of BVVL where the patient died within the first five years of the disease. On the contrary, most patients have survived more than 10 years after the onset of their first symptom, and several cases have survived 20–30 years after the onset of their first symptom.

Families with multiple cases of BVVL and, more generally, multiple cases of infantile progressive bulbar palsy can show variability in age of disease onset and survival. Dipti and Childs described such a situation in which a family had five children that had Infantile PBP. In this family, three siblings showed sensorineural deafness and other symptoms of BVVL at an older age. The other two siblings showed symptoms of Fazio-Londe disease and died before the age of two.

In most cases, between the age of 2 and 4 oculomotor signals are present. Between the age of 2 and 8, telangiectasias appears. Usually by the age of 10 the child needs a wheel chair. Individuals with autosomal recessive cerebellum ataxia usually survive till their 20s; in some cases individuals have survived till their 40s or 50s.

A 2006 study followed 223 patients for a number of years. Of these, 15 died, with a median age of 65 years. The authors tentatively concluded that this is in line with a previously reported estimate of a shortened life expectancy of 10-15 years (12 in their data).

The disorder has been associated with various mutations in the SLC52A2 and "SLC52A3" genes. This gene is thought to be involved in transport of riboflavin.

BVVL is allelic and phenotypically similar to Fazio–Londe disease and likewise is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.

Distal spinal muscular atrophy type 2 (DSMA2), also known as Jerash type distal hereditary motor neuropathy (HMN-J) — is a very rare childhood-onset genetic disorder characterised by progressive muscle wasting affecting lower and subsequently upper limbs. The disorder has been described in Arab inhabitants of Jerash region in Jordan as well as in a Chinese family.

The condition is linked to a genetic mutation in the "SIGMAR1" gene on chromosome 19 (locus 19p13.3) and is likely inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.

DSMA1 is usually fatal in early childhood. The patient, normally a child, suffers a progressive degradation of the respiratory system until respiratory failure. There is no consensus on the life expectancy in DSMA1 despite a number of studies being conducted. A small number of patients survive past two years of age but they lack signs of diaphragmatic paralysis or their breathing is dependent on a ventilation system.

X-linked spinal muscular atrophy type 2 (SMAX2, XLSMA), also known as arthrogryposis multiplex congenita X-linked type 1 (AMCX1), is a rare neurological disorder involving death of motor neurons in the anterior horn of spinal cord resulting in generalised muscle wasting (atrophy). The disease is caused by a mutation in "UBA1" gene and is passed in a X-linked recessive manner by carrier mothers to affected sons.

Affected babies have general muscle weakness, weak cry and floppy limbs; consequently, the condition is usually apparent at or even before birth. Symptoms resemble the more severe forms of the more common spinal muscular atrophy (SMA); however, SMAX2 is caused by a different genetic defect and only genetic testing can correctly identify the disease.

The disorder is usually fatal in infancy or early childhood due to progressive respiratory failure, although survival into teenage years have been reported. As with many genetic disorders, there is no known cure to SMAX2. Appropriate palliative care may be able to increase quality of life and extend lifespan.

The severity of different forms of PCH varies, but many children inheriting the mutated gene responsible do not survive infancy or childhood; nevertheless, some individuals born with PCH have reached adulthood.

Behr syndrome is characterized by the association of early-onset optic atrophy with spinocerebellar degeneration resulting in ataxia, pyramidal signs, peripheral neuropathy and developmental delay.

Although it is an autosomal recessive disorder, heterozygotes may still manifest much attenuated symptoms. Autosomal dominant inheritance also being reported in a family. Recently a variant of OPA1 mutation with phenotypic presentation like Behr syndrome is also described. Some reported cases have been found to carry mutations in the OPA1, OPA3 or C12ORF65 genes which are known causes of pure optic atrophy or optic atrophy complicated by movement disorder.

The Roussy–Lévy syndrome is not a fatal disease and life expectancy is normal. However, due to progressive muscle wasting patients may need supportive orthopaedic equipment or wheelchair assistance.

The disease has only been identified as distinct from SMA recently, so research is still experimental, taking place mostly in animal models. Several therapy pathways have been devised which include gene therapy, whereby an "IGHMBP2" transgene is delivered to the cell using a viral vector; small-molecule drugs like growth factors (e.g., IGF-1 and VEGF) or olesoxime; and transplantation of healthy motor neurons grown "in vitro" from the patient's stem cells. Studies in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are also considered helpful because the condition is relatively similar to SMARD1.

Toxic optic neuropathy refers to the ingestion of a toxin or an adverse drug reaction that results in vision loss from optic nerve damage. Patients may report either a sudden loss of vision in both eyes, in the setting of an acute intoxication, or an insidious asymmetric loss of vision from an adverse drug reaction. The most important aspect of treatment is recognition and drug withdrawal.

Among the many causes of TON, the top 10 toxins include:

- Medications

- Ethambutol, rifampin, isoniazid, streptomycin (tuberculosis treatment)

- Linezolid (taken for bacterial infections, including pneumonia)

- Chloramphenicol (taken for serious infections not helped by other antibiotics)

- Isoretinoin (taken for severe acne that fails to respond to other treatments)

- Ciclosporin (widely used immunosuppressant)

- Acute Toxins

- Methanol (component of some moonshine, and some cleaning products)

- Ethylene glycol (present in anti-freeze and hydraulic brake fluid)

Metabolic disorders may also cause this version of disease. Systemic problems such as diabetes mellitus, kidney failure, and thyroid disease can cause optic neuropathy, which is likely through buildup of toxic substances within the body. In most cases, the cause of the toxic neuropathy impairs the tissue’s vascular supply or metabolism. It remains unknown as to why certain agents are toxic to the optic nerve while others are not and why particularly the papillomacular bundle gets affected.

Fazio–Londe disease is linked to a genetic mutation in the "SLC52A3" gene on chromosome 20 (locus: 20p13). It is allelic and phenotypically similar to Brown–Vialetto–Van Laere syndrome.

The condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner.

The gene encodes the intestinal riboflavin transporter (hRFT2).

A mutation in the ZNHIT3 gene - a nuclear zinc finger protein involved in transcriptional regulation and in small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein particle assembly has been shown to be the cause of the Finnish-type of PEHO syndrome. However, the syndrome appear to be genetically heterogeneous and it might reflect an underlying genetic tubulinopathy, with biallelic mutations in the gene PRUNE1 also identified in non-Finnish patients with PEHO syndrome.

The cause of Primrose syndrome is currently unknown. This condition is extremely rare and seems to spontaneously occur, regardless of family history.

In the case studied by Dalai et al. in 2010, it was found that an abnormally high amount of calcitonin, a hormone secreted by the thyroid gland to stabilize blood calcium levels, was present in the blood serum. This suggests that the thyroid gland is releasing an abnormal amount of calcitonin, resulting in the disruption of calcium level homeostasis. No molecular cause was found, but an expanded microarray analysis of the patient found a 225.5 kb deletion on chromosome 11p between rs12275693 and rs1442927. Whether or not this deletion is related to the syndrome or is a harmless mutation is unknown. The deletion was not present in the patient's mother's DNA sample, but the father's DNA was unavailable.

TAA is an old term for a constellation of elements that can lead to a mitochondrial optic neuropathy. The classic patient is a man with a history of heavy alcohol and tobacco consumption. Respectively, this combines nutritional mitochondrial impairment, from vitamin deficiencies (folate and B-12) classically seen in alcoholics, with tobacco-derived products, such as cyanide and ROS. It has been suggested that the additive effect of the cyanide toxicity, ROS, and deficiencies of thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, and b12 result in TAA.

Overall, the prognosis for patients with NOMID is not good, though many (80%) live into adulthood, and a few appear to do relatively well. They are at risk for leukemia, infections, and some develop deposits of protein aggregated called amyloid, which can lead to kidney failure and other problems. The neurologic problems are most troubling. The finding that other diseases are related and a better understanding of where the disease comes from may lead to more effective treatments.

MMA mostly occurs in males between the ages of 15 and 25. Onset and progression are slow. MMA is seen most frequently in Asia, particularly in Japan and India; it is much less common in North America.

The prevalence of SCA6 varies by culture. In Germany, SCA6 accounts for 10-25% of all autosomal dominant cases of SCA (SCA itself having a prevalence of 1 in 100,000). This prevalence in lower in Japan, however, where SCA6 accounts for only ~6% of spinocerebellar ataxias. In Australia, SCA6 accounts for 30% of spinocerebellar ataxia cases while 11% in the Dutch.

Onset : Early childhood

Progression: Chronic progressive

Clinical: Cerebellar ataxia plus syndrome / Optic Atrophy Plus Syndrome

Ocular: Optic atrophy, nystagmus, scotoma, and bilateral retrobulbar neuritis.

Other: Mental retardation, myoclonic epilepsy, spasticity, and posterior column sensory loss. Tremor in some cases.

Musculoskeletal

Contractures, lower limbs, Achilles tendon contractures, Hamstring contractures, Adductor longus contractures

Systemic

Hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism.

Spinal muscular atrophy with lower extremity predominance (SMA-LED) is an extremely rare neuromuscular disorder of infants characterised by severe progressive muscle atrophy which is especially prominent in legs.

The disorder is associated with a genetic mutation in the "DYNC1H1" gene (the gene responsible also for one of the axonal types of Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease) and is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. As with many genetic disorders, there is no known cure to SMA-LED.

The condition was first described in a multi-generational family by Walter Timme in 1917. Its linkage to the "DYNC1H1" gene was discovered in 2010 by M. B. Harms, et al., who also proposed the current name of the disorder.

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH) is a heterogeneous group of rare neurodegenerative disorders caused by genetic mutations and characterised by progressive atrophy of various parts of the brain such as the cerebellum or brainstem (particularly the pons). Where known, these disorders are inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion. There is no known cure for PCH.

Onset of first symptom has been reported between 1–12 years, with a mean age of onset at 8 years. Clinical course can be divided into early (< 6 yrs age, predominance of respiratory symptoms) and late course (6–20 years of age, predominance of motor symptoms on superior limbs). Progression to involve other cranial nerve muscles occurs over a period of months or years. In the Gomez review facial nerve was affected in all cases while hypoglossal nerve was involved in all except one case. Other cranial nerves involved were vagus, trigeminal, spinal accessory nerve, abducent, occulomotor and glossopharyngeal in this order. Corticospinal tract signs were found in 2 of the 14 patients.

The disease may progress to patient's death in a period as short as 9 months or may have a slow evolution or may show plateaus. Post mortem examination of cases have found depletion of nerve cells in the nuclei of cranial nerves. The histologic alterations found in patient with Fazio–Londe disease were identical to those seen in infantile-onset spinal muscular atrophy.

Strength may improve with administration of cholinesterase inhibitors.

Spinal muscular atrophy with progressive myoclonic epilepsy (SMA-PME), sometimes called Jankovic–Rivera syndrome, is a very rare neurodegenerative disease whose symptoms include slowly progressive muscle wasting (atrophy), predominantly affecting distal muscles, combined with denervation and myoclonic seizures.

SMA-PME is associated with a missense mutation (c.125C→T) or deletion in exon 2 of the "ASAH1" gene and is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. As with many genetic disorders, there is no known cure to SMA-PME.

The condition was first described in 1979 by American researchers Joseph Jankovic and Victor M. Rivera.

Parry–Romberg syndrome appears to occur randomly and for unknown reasons. Prevalence is higher in females than males, with a ratio of roughly 3:2. The condition is observed on the left side of the face about as often as on the right side.