What is the cause of spinocerebellar degeneration?!
Question:
What is the cause of spinocerebellar degeneration?
Are there any organizations where i can donate for this disease???
Is there any possible cure?!?!
Answers:
What are Ataxias and Cerebellar or Spinocerebellar Degeneration?
Ataxia often occurs when parts of the nervous system that control movement are damaged. People with ataxia experience a failure of muscle control in their arms and legs, resulting in a lack of balance and coordination or a disturbance of gait. While the term ataxia is primarily used to describe this set of symptoms, it is sometimes also used to refer to a family of disorders. It is not, however, a specific diagnosis.
Most disorders that result in ataxia cause cells in the part of the brain called the cerebellum to degenerate, or atrophy. Sometimes the spine is also affected. The phrases cerebellar degeneration and spinocerebellar degeneration are used to describe changes that have taken place in a person’s nervous system; neither term constitutes a specific diagnosis. Cerebellar and spinocerebellar degeneration have many different causes. The age of onset of the resulting ataxia varies depending on the underlying cause of the degeneration.
Many ataxias are hereditary and are classified by chromosomal location and pattern of inheritance: autosomal dominant, in which the affected person inherits a normal gene from one parent and a faulty gene from the other parent; and autosomal recessive, in which both parents pass on a copy of the faulty gene. Among the more common inherited ataxias are Friedreich’s ataxia and Machado-Joseph disease. Sporadic ataxias can also occur in families with no prior history.
Ataxia can also be acquired. Conditions that can cause acquired ataxia include stroke, multiple sclerosis, tumors, alcoholism, peripheral neuropathy, metabolic disorders, and vitamin deficiencies....
Organizations
National Ataxia Foundation (NAF)
2600 Fernbrook Lane North
Suite 119
Minneapolis, MN 55447-4752
naf@ataxia.org
http://www.ataxia.org
Tel: 763-553-0020
Fax: 763-553-0167
Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)
P.O. Box 1537
Springfield, VA 22151
fara@CureFA.org
http://www.CureFA.org
Tel: (703) 426-1576
Fax: (703) 413-4467
International Joseph Disease Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 994268
Redding, CA 96099-4268
MJD@ijdf.net
http://www.ijdf.net
Tel: 530-246-4722
WE MOVE (Worldwide Education & Awareness for Movement Disorders)
204 West 84th Street
New York, NY 10024
wemove@wemove.org
http://www.wemove.org
Tel: 212-875-8312 866-546-3136
Fax: 212-875-8389
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
P.O. Box 1968
(55 Kenosia Avenue)
Danbury, CT 06813-1968
orphan@rarediseases.org
http://www.rarediseases.org
Tel: 203-744-0100 Voice Mail 800-999-NORD (6673)
Fax: 203-798-2291
Prepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892