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Most things about you are written in your genes: from the colour of your eyes, whether you are lactose intolerant, to if you have a higher chance of getting certain diseases. You may have heard of the popular ancestry DNA testing service that tells if you are part Chinese, part Read More…
Written by Dr. Hannah K Shorrock Edited by Dr. Hayley McLoughlin A C. elegans model of SCA3 helps to identify the serotonin receptor agonist befiradol as a potential therapeutic for SCA3 To move toward treatments for ataxia patients, it is important to understand what cellular and molecular pathways are dysfunctional Read More…
The SCAsource team is excited to announce that we are partnering with the National Ataxia Foundation (NAF) to improve our website infrastructure! As you know, SCAsource is run by a team of volunteers, mainly graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from ataxia research labs. We’re researchers, not web designers, but we’ve Read More…
Written by Carrie Sheeler Edited by Dr. Hayley McLoughlin Researchers use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to determine if brain volume can be a biomarker for SCA3 There are two goals of preclinical research. First, to understand the cause of a disease. Second, to develop treatments to stop or slow its Read More…
Written by Dr Hannah K Shorrock Edited by Dr. Maria do Carmo Costa Neurofilament light chain predicts cerebellar atrophy across multiple types of spinocerebellar ataxia A team led by Alexandra Durr at the Paris Brain Institute identified that the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein are higher in SCA1, Read More…
The pole test is a common and straightforward test to assess motor coordination in mice. While ataxia might be easy to see in patients, it is not always as apparent in ataxia mouse models. Therefore, this fast and simple test is important for researchers to measure disease severity. It is Read More…
The SCAsource team is pleased to announce that we have become a partner of the Ataxia Global Initiative (AGI)! The AGI is an international collaboration to assist the development of treatments for ataxia. Some of the work of the AGI includes promoting open data sharing and building skills to prepare Read More…
The International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) is an assessment of the degree of impairment in patients with cerebellar ataxia. It was developed in 1997 by the Committee of the World Federation of Neurology. The goal of ICARS is to provide a standardized clinical rating score to measure the efficacy Read More…
What is N-acetylcysteine used for? Cysteine is an amino acid that is used as a building block in our bodies to make proteins. We consume cysteine in our diets through protein-rich foods, like beef or lentils. N-acetylcysteine is a chemical derivative of cysteine. This means which means that N-acetylcysteine contains Read More…
Written by Ziyang Zhao Edited by Dr. Hayley McLoughlin A newly developed smartphone application will allow patients to assess ataxia at home. There’s an interesting problem in science that’s often overshadowed in the scientific community. It’s not as flashy or as newsworthy as most scientific headlines, like the eradication of Read More…
