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.

Cell-death mechanism linked to developmental and degenerative brain disorders

Conclusive evidence that neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and ataxias can be caused, at least in part, by specific gene defects that interfere with the electrical impulses of rapid-firing brain nerve cells called bursting neurons.

1 Mar 2006

Spinocerebellar ataxia and other neurodegenerative diseases might be treatable with drugs that alter the activity of potassium channels

For the first time, researchers have linked mutations in a gene that regulates how potassium enters cells to a neurodegenerative disease and to another disorder that causes mental retardation and coordination problems.

27 Feb 2006

Abraham Lincoln may have suffered from movement disorder

Researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Minnesota have discovered a gene mutation in the descendants of Abraham Lincoln's grandparents that suggests the Civil War president himself might have also suffered from a disease that destroys nerve cells in the cerebellum-- the part of the brain that controls movement.

7 Feb 2006

Ataxia gene identified

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School have discovered the gene responsible for a type of ataxia, an incurable degenerative brain disease affecting movement and coordination.

23 Jan 2006

Mutations in the gene, called PIG-A may help identify individuals at high risk for cancer

A new study to detect an elevated rate of mutations in a gene on the X chromosome holds promise for developing a test that could identify individuals at risk for developing cancer.

26 Sep 2005

Possible molecular origin of at least nine human diseases of nervous system degeneration

These neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease, share an abnormal deposit of proteins inside nerve cells. This deposition of protein results from a kind of genetic stutter within the cell's nucleus asking for multiple copies of the amino acid glutamine, a building block of protein structure.

26 Sep 2005

Ataxin-1 affects the development of the nervous system

In some neurological diseases, too much of what is usually a good thing can be bad, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report in this week's issue of the journal Cell.

28 Aug 2005

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome difficult to diagnose

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome can be difficult to diagnose and should have guidelines for diagnostic testing, according to a study in the July 26 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. A second study found chemotherapy aggravated symptoms in one woman's case.

25 Jul 2005

New understanding of DNA repair processes may pave way to cancer treatments

A Burnham Institute study has found that a protein known for its role in gene regulation has another important function, that of initiating DNA repair. The study, published in the May 27th edition of Molecular Cell, points to new targets for treatment of cancer.

30 May 2005

Discovery may lead to therapies to treat the neurological disease

Opening a window to understand the molecular basis of a hereditary ataxia, Dartmouth Medical School researchers have identified an enzyme activity that is inactivated in all reported mutant forms of a disease protein. The discovery may lead to therapies to treat the neurological disease.

29 May 2005

Right-to-life case doctors backed by British Government

The British Government has directly intervened in a right-to-life case being heard at the Court of Appeal with a message to judges that giving patients the right to demand life-prolonging treatment would have "very serious implications" for the National Health Service (NHS).

18 May 2005

Researchers have identified the cellular receptor for the JC virus

Researchers funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have identified the cellular receptor for the JC virus, which causes the fatal neurological disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

17 Jan 2005

Scientists have devised a novel way to repair one of the genetic mutations that causes ataxia-telangiectasia

UCLA scientists have devised a novel way to repair one of the genetic mutations that causes ataxia-telangiectasia, (A-T), a life-shortening disorder that devastates the neurological and immune systems of one in 40,000 young children.

19 Oct 2004

Researcher looks for clues to degenerative, deadly disease called Ataxia-telangiectasia

Few have heard of the degenerative, deadly disease called Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) but a University of Alberta researcher is hoping to provide clues to this mysterious disorder.

23 Sep 2004

Gray matter in brain associated with language processing among people with a family history of dyslexia

Italian researchers have observed significant reductions of gray matter volume in areas of the brain associated with language processing among people with a family history of dyslexia in comparison with controls with no reading problems.

24 Aug 2004

Study on RNAi technology targeting neurodegenerative diseases

Sirna Therapeutics has announced the publication of preclinical studies evaluating RNA interference-based therapies for a class of inherited neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) in the current issue of Nature Medicine.

16 Aug 2004

Stroke severity is the predominant predictor of discharge destination

An article in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology reports that increasing stroke severity, as measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, increases the likelihood that stroke patients who are treated with the rt-PA clot-dissolving drug will be discharged to rehabilitation or nursing homes, rather than to their own homes.

20 Jul 2004

Gene therapy may provide a treatment for a group of incurable, progressive neurological diseases called polyglutamine-repeat diseases

Researchers from the University of Iowa have have shown for the first time that gene therapy delivered to the brains of living mice can prevent the physical symptoms and neurological damage caused by an inherited neurodegenerative disease that is similar to Huntington's disease (HD).

5 Jul 2004

Discovery of gene that causes a rare juvenile-onset form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

The discovery of the Senataxin gene, on chromosome 9q34, may provide clues to the mechanisms of related brain disorders. The study appears in the June 2004 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

28 Jun 2004

The April 2004 issue of Otolaryngology focuses on head and neck surgery

The efficacy of a new cancer-fighting virus is tested in the study, “Treatment of Solid Sarcomas in Immunocompetent Mice with Novel Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Viruses.” A team of multi-disciplinary Japanese researchers found that a weakened version of herpes simplex virus (HSV) effectively eradicated neck and flank tumors in mice.

23 Apr 2004