Background: Progressive ataxias are complex disorders that result in a wide variety of symptoms. Whilst we currently have relatively good understanding the symptom patterns associated with various types ataxia, and how these diseases progress over time, their impact on person ataxia is less well understood. In addition, little known about carers, friends families aff...

Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is an inherited, neurodegenerative disease that typically presents in childhood and results progressive gait limb ataxia, with the extraneural features of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, diabetes scoliosis. The genetic defect a deficiency frataxin protein, which important for mitochondrial function, especially brain heart. Drug development has approached FRDA through pat...

BACKGROUND The small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel gene (hSKCa3) contains 2 CAG repeats, 1 of which is highly polymorphic. Although this repeat is not pathologically expanded in patients with schizophrenia, some studies have suggested an allelic association with schizophrenia. CAG expansions in other genes such as the alpha1 subunit of a brain-specific P/Q-type calcium channel...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Cerebellar ataxia can be induced by a large number of drugs. We here conducted a systemic review of the drugs that can lead to cerebellar ataxia as an adverse drug reaction (ADR). METHODS We performed a systematic literature search in Pubmed (1966 to January 2014) and EMBASE (1988 to January 2014) to identify all of the drugs that can have ataxia as an ADR and to ass...

BACKGROUND Although mentioned in most series, "pure" autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias, except spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, are difficult to differentiate on clinical grounds. OBJECTIVE To describe Portuguese families with a peculiar pure form of dominant ataxia that, to our knowledge, has never been documented before and in which cerebellar signs are preceded by spasmodic cough. PATI...

Ataxia telangiectasia is a genetically inherited multisystem disorder with predominant feature being telangiectasia and cerebellar ataxia. In this report, a family of three siblings suffering from ataxia telangiectasia is described. The proband presented with dystonia and dystonic myoclonus, both of which are rare presenting features of ataxia telangiectasia.

We previously have described a group of patients with gluten sensitivity presenting with ataxia (gluten ataxia) and suggested that this disease entity may account for a large number of patients with sporadic idiopathic ataxia. We have therefore investigated the prevalence of gluten sensitivity amongst a large cohort of patients with sporadic and familial ataxia and looked at possible genetic pr...