T he cerebellar ataxias are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders, characterised by symptoms and signs of cerebellar degeneration, pyramidal and extrapyramidal features, and variable polyneuropathy. Prominent clinical features are signs of cerebellar ataxia, such as uncoordinated gait and uncontrolled co-ordination of hand, speech, and eye movements, while (extra) pyramidal signs...

BACKGROUND The high prevalence of gluten sensitivity in patients with stiff-person syndrome (SPS) lead us to investigate the relationship between gluten sensitivity and GAD-antibody-associated diseases. METHODS We used ELISA assays for anti-GAD and for serological markers of gluten sensitivity. Patients were recruited from clinics based at the Royal Hallamshire hospital, Sheffield, UK. Patien...

MRI of the brain was performed in 53 patients with a variety of degenerative ataxias and related disorders and 96 control subjects. Atrophy of intracranial structures was not seen in patients with the pure type of hereditary spastic paraplegia, or in early cases of Friedreich's ataxia. In advanced Friedreich's ataxia there was atrophy of the vermis and medulla. The MRI features of early onset c...

Background. MSA (Multiple System Atrophy) may be associated either with Parkinsonism or with cerebellar ataxia (MSA-c subtype). It is considered a rare disease, but many patients are misdiagnosed as suffering from idiopathic Parkinson's disease. In this paper, we report a case of a patient admitted with respiratory failure and vocal cords paralysis due to MSA-c. Case Report. A 79-year-old Cauca...

Nine patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy associated with Friedreich's ataxia were treated with the calcium antagonist verapamil, which is known to reduce myocardial hypertrophy and improve diastolic function in patients with idiopathic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Daily oral doses of 7 mg/kg were given for a mean (SD) of 24 (8) months. M mode echocardiography performed at the start of the...

BACKGROUND Differentiating idiopathic late-onset cerebellar ataxia (ILOCA) from ataxia due to the cerebellar subtype of multiple-system atrophy (MSA-C) can be difficult in the early stages of the disease METHODS The authors analyzed the levels of various CSF biomarkers in 27 patients with MSA-C and 18 patients with ILOCA and obtained cut-off points for each potential biomarker to differentiat...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the levels of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in brain tissue of multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients differ from those in elderly controls and in patients with other neurodegenerative diseases. METHODS Flash frozen brain tissue of a series of 20 pathologically confirmed MSA patients [9 olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) type, 6 striatoni...

The molecular basis of idiopathic generalized epilepsy remains poorly understood. Absence epilepsy with 3 Hz spike-wave EEG is one of the most common human epilepsies, and is associated with significant morbidity. Several spontaneously occurring genetic mouse models of absence epilepsy are caused by dysfunction of the P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channel CaV2.1. Such mice exhibit a primary ge...

OBJECTIVES Downbeat nystagmus (DBN) is the most common form of acquired involuntary ocular oscillation overriding fixation. According to previous studies, the cause of DBN is unsolved in up to 44% of cases. We reviewed 117 patients to establish whether analysis of a large collective and improved diagnostic means would reduce the number of cases with "idiopathic DBN" and thus change the aetiolog...