Ataxia [originally
Greek word 'ataxia' means
unordered or
disambiguity ] is not a disease, rather it is the inability of the limbs to coordinate properly while performing voluntary movements. It leads to unsteady, clumsy and awkward action of regular movements. It can affect any part of the body.
Ataxia occurs when cells in CEREBELLUM (part of nervous system - lower back portion of brain), which is responsible for muscle coordination, gets damaged.
SIGNS and
SYMPTOMS of Ataxia
- Unsteady walking
- Stumbling, tremors
- Loss of consciousness
- Slurred speech (monotonous voice with speeds or pauses)
- Difficulty performing fine-motor tasks
- Slow eye movements (overshoot or undershoot)
- Lack of balance in control and coordination of muscle movements
ETIOLOGY (Diseases leading to Ataxia)
- Cerebral palsy
- Stroke
- Tumor
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Alcoholism
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Metabolic disorders
- Vitamin deficiencies like Vit.B12 and Vit.E
CAUSES
- Hereditary:-
This can occur when
- inheriting one normal and one infected gene from the parent (dominant type)
- inheriting copy of infected genes from both the parents (recessive type)
Includes - Friedreich's Ataxia; Machado-Joseph disease; Spinopontine atrophy; ataxia with ophthaloplegia.
- Acquired (Sporadic):-
This can occur due to reasons mentioned in Etiology.
Includes - Spastic Ataxia; Menzel's Ataxia, Marie's Ataxia; Holmes' Ataxia, Sporadic Atrophy; and Sporadic OPCA atrophy.
DIAGNOSIS
- Gait
- Blood test
- Neurological examination
- Glucose and amino acids test
- Urine test
- Genetic test
- Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan (for Strokes, Tumors)
TYPES
- Spinocerebellar Ataxia (Dysdiadochokinesia)
- Sensory Ataxia
- Friedriech's Ataxia
- Spastic Ataxia
- Menzel's Ataxia
- Marie's Ataxia
- Gait
TREATMENT
As such no particular effective cure has yet been available.
*PHYSICAL and SPEECH therapies
*Deep-brain stimulation
However, dose of oral L-DOPA is suggested as a treatment of ataxia of parkinsonism. It is combined in a pill with other medicine to increase its effectiveness and, thus, decreasing its side-effects. Other medications too have been advised for the same but all with side-effects. Effects of these medications to children have yet not been known.
