Written by Paige Blair Edited by Larissa Nitschke & Celeste Suart What are adeno-associated viruses? Adeno-associated viruses, also known as AAV, are a type of virus that infects humans without causing a serious disease response. These viruses possess the unique ability to deliver DNA to specific cells in living organisms. Read More…
Many daily tasks, such as writing or buttoning a shirt, require fine motor skills. One aspect of fine motor skills is muscle strength. In order to write, for example, you need to grip the pencil with the appropriate amount of force. Ataxia can involve a loss of control over fine Read More…
Immunofluorescence is a common laboratory technique used to see proteins in a sample through microscopy. It relies on attaching a fluorophore, a chemical compound that can release light of a certain colour, to an antibody that can recognize a specific protein of interest. Immunofluorescence is an important tool for studying 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 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…
Public transit may not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think about the brain, but it’s a great way to understand how all the parts of the central nervous system work together. Nutrients, hormones, and other important molecules (the passengers) need to get on and off Read More…
A key role of the cerebellum is to control and fine-tune coordinated movement such as walking. Although walking is an unconscious behaviour, it is actually very complex and requires many systems to work together. The specific mannerisms and patterns of coordinated movement that make up how an individual walks are Read More…
Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are well known for worsening motor coordination symptoms caused by the degeneration of the cerebellum. Yet, increasing reports indicate that broader changes are occurring in the brains of some SCA patients. This includes changes in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning and memory. One way Read More…
When you think of a balance beam, you might think of gymnastics. For humans, a balance beam is a surface where we perform jumps, flips, and other athletic feats. Whether it’s a child taking their first class, or an Olympic athlete going for gold, the balance beam requires both balance Read More…
A genome is a person’s complete set of DNA which provides the instructions to make and maintain their body’s functions. Throughout the entire genome, there are genetic differences between individuals known as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs (pronounced “snips”). These variations may be unique or may occur in many people. Read More…
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