Spinocerebellar Ataxia News and Research

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Study investigates onset of spinocerebellar ataxia associated with loss of motor coordination

A European research alliance tracks the onset of ataxias "Spinocerebellar ataxias" are diseases of the nervous system associated with a loss of motor coordination.

19 Aug 2020

New approach improves SCA1 symptoms in animal models

Research has shown that a mutation in the ATAXIN-1 gene leads to accumulation of Ataxin-1 (ATXN1) protein in brain cells and is the root cause of a rare genetic neurodegenerative disease known as spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1).

7 Aug 2020

Novel brain pathology could improve diagnosis, treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Bristol scientists have discovered a novel pathology that occurs in several human neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease.

30 Jun 2020

SAFB1 may be a diagnostic marker for neurodegenerative diseases, shows study

Bristol scientists have discovered a novel pathology that occurs in several human neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease.

30 Jun 2020

Researchers identify a natural amino acid as potential treatment for polyQ diseases

Familial spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), Huntington disease, and spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy are inherited neurodegenerative diseases.

25 May 2020

Scientists gain new insight into the pathological mechanisms behind two neurodegenerative diseases

An international team led by Emory scientists has gained insight into the pathological mechanisms behind two devastating neurodegenerative diseases.

6 May 2020

Study sheds light on the origins of spinocerebellar ataxia type 7

New research has shed light on the origins of spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) and demonstrates effective new therapeutic pathways for SCA7 and the more than 40 other types of spinocerebellar ataxia.

16 Dec 2019

Inhibiting mutant CHIP protein activity could decrease severity of ataxia disease symptoms

For the first time, the UNC School of Medicine lab of Jonathan Schisler, MS, PhD, linked the specific biochemical changes to a protein called CHIP to specific disease characteristics of patients with a wide range of rare disorders.

6 Nov 2019

New method to speed up genetic diagnosis of Huntington’s disease

Elongated segments of DNA cause Huntington's disease and certain other disorders of the brain. Researchers funded by the SNSF have developed a method to determine the length of the mutated genes quickly and easily.

10 Jan 2019

New form of therapy may stop or reverse progressive vision loss

A new form of therapy may halt or even reverse a form of progressive vision loss that, until now, has inevitably led to blindness.

1 Nov 2018

Electrical stimulation of the brain may help treat symptoms of neurodegenerative ataxias

Electrical stimulation of the brain and spinal cord may help treat the symptoms of rare movement disorders called neurodegenerative ataxias, according to a study published in the August 22, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

23 Aug 2018

Researchers employ nucleotide-based gene silencing to mitigate common ataxia

In what researchers are calling a game changer for future ataxia treatments, a new study showed the ability to turn down the disease progression of the most common dominantly inherited ataxia.

20 Jun 2018

Houston Methodist-led research focuses on rare, inherited neurodegenerative disorder

A rare, inherited neurodegenerative disorder will soon be the focus of an international clinical research effort led by Houston Methodist and funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Apr 2018

Adult-onset degenerative disease mechanism begins much earlier than previously thought

The disease mechanism for adult-onset progressive degenerative diseases begins much earlier than previously thought, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

30 Mar 2018

Researchers uncover key protein that rescues progression of adult spinocerebellar ataxia

Spinocerebellar ataxia is a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by progressive incoordination of gait, and is often associated with poor coordination of hands, speech, and eye movements.

27 Jan 2018

Atomic resolution structure of key molecule may contribute to drug discovery for devastating conditions

Culminating a nearly 10 year effort, researchers have determined the atomic resolution structure of a key molecule that translates signals from a cell's local environment into a language that the cell can understand and use.

18 Apr 2017

Targeted treatment slows progression of two degenerative brain diseases in mice

Scientists report a significant step toward combatting two degenerative brain diseases that chip away at an individual's ability to move, and think.

12 Apr 2017

Targeting RNA repeats

RNA repeats are stretches of code in the body that incrementally repeat. For example, in the most common cause of adult-on-set muscular dystrophy a RNA has a repeat of r(CUG) and this three letter code can repeat thousands of times.

20 Feb 2017

Tufts scientists discover reason for incidence of genetic error that causes many disorders

Tufts University researchers have discovered a possible explanation for the occurrence of a genetic error that causes over a dozen neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington's disease, myotonic dystrophy and forms of spinocerebellar ataxia.

6 Dec 2016

Rice University scientists uncover new clues to cause of Huntington's disease

Rice University scientists have uncovered new details about how a repeating nucleotide sequence in the gene for a mutant protein may trigger Huntington's and other neurological diseases.

11 Nov 2016