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SCA8

Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 8: Lifetime risk and repeat interruptions

Written by Dr. Hannah K ShorrockEdited by Dr. Larissa Nitschke Differences in the lifetime risk of developing SCA8 are associated with the presence of interruptions in the ATXN8 repeat expansion. In most spinocerebellar ataxias caused by repeat expansions, everyone who carries a repeat expansion above a certain threshold will develop Read More…

Snapshot: What is Riluzole?

Riluzole, often sold under the trade name Rilutek, is a medication used for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects neurons controlling muscle movements. The drug was approved by the FDA (1995), Health Canada (1997), and the European Commission (1996). It Read More…

A New Use for Old Drugs

Written by Dr. Amy Smith-Dijak Edited by Logan Morrison Basic biology helps identify a new treatment for ataxia Drug design doesn’t always have to start with a blank slate. Sometimes understanding how existing drugs work can help researchers to design new ones, or even to recombine old drugs in new Read More…

Les yeux, des fenêtres pour voir la fonction cérébrale dans les ataxies spinocérébelleuses

Écrit par Dr Sriram Jayabal, Édité par Dr David Bushart, Traduction française par: L’Association Alatax, Publication initiale: 20 décembre 2019  Les déficits de mouvement oculaire se produisent de manière omniprésente dans les ataxies spinocérébelleuses, même aux premiers stades de la maladie, soulignant leur importance clinique. Imaginez les différents mouvements moteurs Read More…

Working with cerebellar ataxia

Written by Dr. David Bushart Edited by Dr. Sriram Jayabal How can employment be made more accessible for ataxia patients? What barriers exist? A study of workers and non-workers with ataxia analyzes the benefit of employment, as well as how to reduce risk of injury. A job can often become Read More…

Eyes: Windows to peek at brain function in spinocerebellar ataxias

Written by Dr. Sriram Jayabal Edited by Dr. David Bushart Eye movement deficits occur ubiquitously in spinocerebellar ataxias, even at early disease states, highlighting their clinical importance. Imagine the different motor movements that you make in your everyday life. Many people think of actions that we perform using our hands Read More…

Snapshot: What is RAN translation?

In many diseases caused by repeat expansion mutations in the DNA, harmful proteins containing repetitive stretches are found to build up in the brain. The repeat expansion mutation, when translated into a protein, results in an abnormally expanded repeat tract that can affect the function of the protein and have Read More…

The Discovery of SCA8

Written by Dr. Hannah K Shorrock Edited by Dr. Judit M Perez Ortiz How one team uncovered the first SCA known to be caused by a CTG repeat expansion mutation Identifying the gene that causes a type of ataxia not only gives patients and their families a clearer diagnosis and prognosis, Read More…

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