Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a group of ataxias passed down through families. They are named after the areas that are mainly affected in the disease: the cerebellum and the spinal cord. For the most part SCAs are autosomal dominant. This means that children of affected parents have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease.
SCAs are numbered in the order that they were first identified. There are currently over 40 identified forms of SCA.
For more information, please take a look at our SCA article categories or What is Ataxia? page.