The Ataxia Community Comes Together in Orlando April 9–11, 2026 for the Annual Ataxia Conference! LEARN MORE
Written by Poojashree Chettiar Edited by Pragya Goel, PhD AI and wearable tech may transform how ataxia is monitored Could everyday devices help track ataxia? Finding treatments for neurological disorders like spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and multiple system atrophy (MSA-C) has been challenging. A major reason is the lack of good Read More…
Written by Jacen Emerson Edited by Hannah Shorrock, PhD Human Imaging data reveals worsening spinal cord damage in several Ataxias that can begin before symptoms start. Why does the spinal cord matter in SCA? Rezende and colleagues recently published the most thorough study of spinal cord damage in Spinocerebellar Ataxias Read More…
Escrito por Alexandra PutkaEditado por Dr Hannah K ShorrockTraducido por Ismael Araujo-Aliaga Científicos caracterizan la progresión de las enfermedades SCA1, 2, 3 y 6, y descubren que los síntomas cambian más rápido en los primeros 10 años de la enfermedad. El diseño de ensayos clínicos para enfermedades raras como las Read More…
Written by Ross Pelzel Edited by Eder Xhako, PhD and Celeste Suart, PhD Alternative splicing produces different versions of proteins that arise from the same gene. In many neurodegenerative diseases, this process results in dysfunctional proteins that lead to disease symptoms. In Shorrock et al., the authors investigate how alternative Read More…
Written by Katerina Pliatsika Edited by Hannah K Shorrock, PhD Additional proteins which interact with ATXN1 contribute to toxicity in a SCA1 mouse model. In neurodegenerative diseases, a problematic gene and its resulting protein play a crucial role in the selective loss of brain cells. However, a fundamental question remains unanswered: Read More…
BDNF stands for Brain-derived neurotrophic factor. BDNF is a protein found in the brain that belongs to the group of neurotrophic proteins. Neurotrophic means that these proteins promote the survival and growth of new neurons during brain development and the survival and function of existing neurons in the adult brain. Read More…
Written by Alexandra Putka Edited by Dr. Pragya Goel Feeling tired? You’re not alone. Fatigue is a common symptom of Spinocerebellar ataxias and affects quality of life. Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are characterized by various symptoms, but fatigue is not often included on this list. Fatigue is clinically defined as difficulty Read More…
Written by Christina PengEdited by Larissa Nitschke, PhD Ever since the CAG expansion of the Ataxin-1 (ATXN1) gene has been identified as the cause of spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), researchers have been on the hunt for the mechanism of the disease. How does this mutation cause SCA1? So far, Read More…
Written by Marija Cvetanovic, PhDEdited by Spyros Petrakis, PhD Researchers from Yale provide evidence that glial cells, in particular Bergmann glia in the cerebellum, may contribute to disease pathogenesis in SCA1. The human brain contains approximately 170 billion cells. However, approximately half of them (86 billion cells) are not neurons. Read More…
Written by Alexandra Putka Edited by Dr Hannah K Shorrock Scientists characterize SCA1, 2, 3, & 6 disease progression, finding that symptoms change most rapidly in the first 10 years of the disease. Designing clinical trials for rare diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) requires us to know the timeline Read More…
