Ataxia News and Research

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Ataxia is a neurological sign and symptom that consists of gross lack of coordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying disfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum.

Defects in mitochondria lead to devastating neurodegenerative disease

A devastating neurodegenerative disease that first appears in toddlers just as they are beginning to walk has been traced to defects in mitochondria, the 'batteries' or energy-producing power plants of cells. This finding by a team of researchers, led by investigators from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro- at McGill University, was published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

18 Jan 2012

Scientists identify compound that can help repair toxic RNA defect

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a compound that can help repair a specific type of defect in RNA, a type of genetic material.

18 Jan 2012

ViroPharma's NDS for Cinryze receives Health Canada's Priority Review status

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that Health Canada has granted the company Priority Review status for its New Drug Submission (NDS) for Cinryze (C1 inhibitor [human]).

13 Jan 2012

ViroPharma to acquire Meritage

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that it has entered into an exclusive option to acquire Meritage Pharma, Inc., a private company based in San Diego, CA focused on developing oral budesonide suspension (OBS) as a treatment for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a chronic inflammatory disorder of the esophagus.

23 Dec 2011

NYUCI experts present latest research findings about hematologic cancers at 53rd ASH meeting

Experts from the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, presented their latest research findings about hematologic cancers at the 53rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition held December 10-13, 2011 in San Diego, California.

14 Dec 2011

Scientists decode how Machado-Joseph disease arises

Neurodegenerative diseases represent one of the greatest challenges of our aging society. However, investigation into these diseases is made particularly difficult due to the limited availability of human brain tissue. Scientists from the Life & Brain Research Center and Neurology Clinic of Bonn University have now taken a roundabout path: They reprogrammed skin cells from patients with a hereditary movement disorder into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and obtained functional nerve cells from them.

24 Nov 2011

New cellular targets for devastating neurological disorder

In a paper published in the November 9 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and University of Washington describe in deeper detail the pathology of a devastating neurological disorder, but also reveal new cellular targets for possibly slowing its development.

10 Nov 2011

VEGF protein appears to prevent progression of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1

A protein that promotes the growth of neurons and blood vessels appears to stop the progression of a genetic disease that causes degeneration of the cerebellum, according to new preclinical Northwestern Medicine research published in Nature Medicine.

18 Oct 2011

Reversing low VEGF levels may potentially treat patients with SCA1

A groundbreaking study in the journal Nature Medicine suggests what could become the first effective treatment for a debilitating and fatal disease of the central nervous system called SCA1.

18 Oct 2011

UPC develops active knee-ankle orthosis to assist gait in people with incomplete SCI

A team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. BarcelonaTech (UPC) has developed an active knee-ankle orthosis to assist gait in people with incomplete spinal cord injury. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the University of A Coruña and the University of Extremadura.

12 Oct 2011

FARA announces 2011 Ataxian Athlete Initiative grant recipients

The Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), in partnership with The FA Project, Catrike, Anna Maria Oyster Bar, and The Melting Pot are pleased to announce Bill Ramsey, Tom Trovinger, Mary Vida, and Patrick Cogan as the 2011 Ataxian Athlete Initiative (AAI) grant recipients.

10 Oct 2011

ViroPharma licenses worldwide rights from Intellect Neurosciences to OX1 for treatment of FA

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced the license of worldwide rights from Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. to its clinical stage drug candidate, OX1, being developed for the treatment of Friedreich's Ataxia (FA), a rare, hereditary, progressive neurodegenerative disease.

1 Oct 2011

Researchers identify abnormal hippocampal blood flow in veterans with Gulf War illness

Blood flow abnormalities found in the brains of veterans with Gulf War illness have persisted 20 years after the war, and in some cases have gotten worse, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology.

14 Sep 2011

Dysregulated neuronal RNA transport may cause Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome

SUNY Downstate scientist Ilham Muslimov, MD, PhD, along with senior author Henri Tiedge, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology and of neurology, published a study suggesting that cellular dysregulation associated with certain neurodegenerative disorders may result from molecular competition in neuronal RNA transport pathways.

8 Sep 2011

Study on effects of adult stem cell treatments in patients with Hereditary Ataxia

The Journal of Translational Medicine reports on a new study in which 30 patients with Hereditary Ataxia showed statistically significant improvements in functionality and quality of life after being treated with a combination of cord blood-derived stem cell treatments and physical therapy.

7 Sep 2011

MDA announces $13.7M in grants to 40 new muscular dystrophy research initiatives

The Muscular Dystrophy Association today announced funding, totaling $13.7 million, for 40 new research initiatives targeting nearly two dozen progressive neuromuscular diseases.

24 Aug 2011

Caffeine in sunscreens may protect from skin cancer: Study

Studies have revealed that drinking caffeinated beverages reduces one’s chances of developing some types of cancer, including UV-associated skin cancer. Now, researchers propose a possible mechanism for this observation—the inhibition of a DNA repair pathway that sensitizes cells to death after sun exposure.

15 Aug 2011

New candidate gene for human benign childhood epilepsies

A new epilepsy gene, LGI2, has been found in the Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, known from their gift for truffle hunting. The gene discovery made by Professor Hannes Lohi and his research group at the University of Helsinki and the Folkhälsan Rsearch Center offers a new candidate gene for human benign childhood epilepsies characterized by seizure remission.

28 Jul 2011

Repligen first quarter total revenue increases 9% to $7,654,000

Repligen Corporation today reported results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, ended June 30, 2011.

27 Jul 2011

Fragile X syndrome study to reveal more

Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability in the world. Medical experts, including the Mater Hospital's Dr Helen Heussler, are today launching a new push to uncover the secrets of a disorder that affects a child born in Australia every week. Fragile X is passed from parent carriers who often exhibit very few symptoms. Estimates suggest more than 100,000 Australians either carry the gene mutation that causes Fragile X or have the syndrome, yet the vast majority have not been diagnosed, according to the Fragile X Association of Australia.

25 Jul 2011