In about 60 percent of the cases, the gene test will determine the type of ataxia. If a treatable cause is not discovered, a gene test should be done. Anyone with progressive gait disorder or imbalance should be evaluated by a neurologist. Most people don’t know what cerebellar ataxia is and may overlook the early symptoms. The cerebellar syndrome is often associated with other neurological signs such as pyramidal or extrapyramidal signs, ophthalmoplegia, and cognitive impairment. Other clinical manifestations include astasia, impaired fine motor skills and intention tremor (cerebellar tremor). Gradually they present progressive limitations in their activities, lose the ability to walk, become bedridden and fully dependent. Patients show symptoms of gait instability or dysarthria and may begin to fall without warning. The disease is characterized by progressively disabling clinical manifestations. read more How does ataxia affect the patient?

multiple sclerosis) metabolic and nutritional (e.g. encephalitic bacterial infection) immune-associated (e.g. cerebellar hemorrhage) toxin-associated (e.g. These causes could be classified into 10 categories: developmental (e.g. There are many causes that could affect the function of cerebellum. Thus, a person with impaired strength or sensation may notice clumsiness or poor coordination and may be diagnosed with cerebellar ataxia. Although the cerebellum does not directly control strength, (motor function) or feeling, (sensory function) the motor sensory pathways must work properly to provide the correct input into the cerebellum. Information comes into the cerebellum from the spinal cord, and other parts of the brain and signals from the cerebellum go out to the spinal cord and to the brain. Other parts of the cerebellum help to coordinate eye movements, speech and swallowing.Ĭerebellar ataxia may also be caused by dysfunction of the pathways leading into and out of the cerebellum. The central part of the cerebellum controls the very complex movements of gait or walking, head and trunk stability and eye movements. The right side of the cerebellum controls coordination on the right side of the body while the left side controls coordination in the left part of the body. The cerebellum is located toward the lower posterior part of the brain. Most often cerebellar ataxia is caused by loss of function in the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain that serves as the coordination center. More About Ataxia and Stem Cell Treatment Stem cells have the ability to regenerate injured cells in the body, helping to reduce/reverse the symptoms and allowing ataxia patients to improve. None of them are actually treating the loss of neurological function caused by cell degeneration in the cerebellum, brain stem and/or spinal cord.

The progression of the disease may later lead to fatigue, swallowing impairment, tremors, reduced coordination, decreased mental alertness and unpaired motor functions.įew conventional treatment options are available for patients diagnosed with ataxia, which mostly focus on alleviating the symptoms. The cerebellum acting as a coordination center in the brain explains why patients diagnosed with ataxia progressively develop symptoms such as gait/walking instability, dysarthria (slurred speech) and individuals affected may begin to fall without warning. In most cases, the disease is caused by genetic mutation (hereditary ataxia) with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) being the most common. Reversing the symptoms of ataxia!Ītaxia is a medical condition caused by loss of function in the cerebellum and and/or dysfunction of its pathways (brain stem, spinal cord). Our stem cell treatment program can be applied to different types of ataxia including SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, AOA1, Friedreich ataxia, ataxia caused by brain injury and more. We believe that our comprehensive treatment approach for ataxia gives our patients the best chances of improvements, allowing for a better quality of life. In our protocols, stem cells are combined with specialized therapies for ataxia that not only focus on helping the patient to cope with their symptoms, but also treat the direct cause of the symptoms by promoting the healing of the brain/spinal cord injury. Since 2005, we have been developing comprehensive stem cell treatment protocols for ataxia to overcome the limitations of conventional therapies. Is Stem Cell Treatment for Ataxia Effective?

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