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Encyclopedia > Ataxia

Name of Symptom/Sign:
Ataxia
Classifications and external resources
ICD-10 R27.0
ICD-9 781.3

Ataxia From Greek αν (used as a negative prefix) + τάξις (order), meaning "lack of order". It is a neurological sign and symptom consisting of gross incoordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is an aspecific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. The "International Ataxia Awareness Day" is celebrated on September 25th each year. Image File history File links Derived from public domain images featured at: http://commons. ... The term symptom (from the Greek meaning chance, mishap or casualty, itself derived from συμπιπτω meaning to fall upon or to happen to) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... In medicine, a sign is a feature of disease as detected by the doctor during physical examination of a patient. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is a coding of diseases and signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). ... // R00-R99 - Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R09) Symptoms and signs involving the circulatory and respiratory systems (R00) Abnormalities of heart beat (R000) Tachycardia, unspecified (R001) Bradycardia, unspecified (R002) Palpitations (R008) Other and unspecified abnormalities of heart beat (R01) Cardiac murmurs and other... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... Ataxia can mean: Ataxia, is unsteady and clumsy motion of the limbs or trunk due to a failure of the gross coordination of muscle movements. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system. ... For other uses of Muscles, see Muscles (disambiguation). ... The Human Nervous System. ... The cerebellum (Latin: little brain) is a region of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception and motor output. ...

Contents

Types of ataxia

Cerebellar ataxia

The term cerebellar ataxia is employed to indicate ataxia due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. This causes a variety of elementary neurological deficits, such as antagonist hypotonia, asynergy, dysmetria, dyschronometria, and dysdiadochokinesia. How and where these abnormalities manifest depend on which cerebellar structures are lesioned, and whether the lesion is bilateral or unilateral. Vestibulo-cerebellar dysfunction presents with postural instability, in which the person tends to separate the feet on standing to gain a wider base, and avoid oscillations (especially posterior-anterior ones); instability is therefore worsened when standing with the feet together (irrespective of whether the eyes are open or closed: this is a negative Romberg's test). Spino-cerebellar dysfunction presents with a wide-based "drunken sailor" gait, characterised by uncertain start and stop, lateral deviations, and unequal steps. Cerebro-cerebellar dysfunction presents with disturbances in carrying out voluntary movements, including intention tremor (coarse trembling, accentuated over the execution of voluntary movements, possibly involving the head and eyes as well as the limbs and torso), peculiar writing abnormalities (large, unequal letters, irregular underlining), and a peculiar pattern of dysarthria (slurred speech, sometimes characterised by explosive variations in voice intensity despite a regular rhythm). Hypotonia is a condition of abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle), often involving reduced muscle strength. ... Asynergy is defective or lack of co-ordination between muscles, limbs or joints, resulting in a loss in movement or speed. ... Dysmetria (Greek: dificult to measure) is a symptom exhibited by patients after cerebellar injury. ... Dysdiadochokinesia is the medical term for an inability to perform rapid, alternating movements. ... A balance disorder is a disturbance that causes an individual to feel unsteady, giddy, woozy, or have a sensation of movement, spinning, or floating. ... Rombergs test is a neurological test of joint position sense (proprioception). ... Intention tremor is a dyskinetic disorder characterized by voluntary withering in an attempt to coordinate delicate movements, caused by slow proprioception and coordination. ... Look up dysarthria in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...


Sensory ataxia

The term sensory ataxia is employed to indicate ataxia due to loss of proprioception (sensitivity to joint and body part position), which generally depends on dysfunction of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord, since they carry proprioceptive information up to the brain; in some cases, the cause may instead be dysfunction of the various brain parts that receive that information, including the cerebellum, thalamus, and parietal lobes. Sensory ataxia presents with an unsteady "stomping" gait with heavy heel strikes, as well as postural instability that is characteristically worsened when the lack of proprioceptive input cannot be compensated by visual input, such as in poorly lit environments. Doctors can evidence this during physical examination by having the patient stand with his / her feet together and eyes shut, which will cause the patient's instability to markedly worsen, producing wide oscillations and possibly a fall (this is called a positive Romberg's test). Worsening of the finger-pointing test with the eyes closed is another feature of sensory ataxia. Also, when the patient is standing with arms and hands extended toward the examiner, if the eyes are closed, the patient's finger will tend to "fall down" and be restored to the horizontal extended position by sudden extensor contractions ("ataxic hand"). // Proprioception (PRO-pree-o-SEP-shun (IPA pronunciation: ); from Latin proprius, meaning ones own and perception) is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body. ... The posterior horn (posterior column, posterior cornu, dorsal horn) of the spinal cord is dorsal (more towards the back) to the anterior horn. ... The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος = bedroom, chamber, IPA= /ˈθæləməs/) is a pair and symmetric part of the brain. ... The parietal lobe is a lobe in the brain. ... For other uses, see Heel (disambiguation). ... Visual perception is one of the senses, consisting of the ability to detect light and interpret (see) it as the perception known as sight or naked eye vision. ... In medicine, the physical examination or clinical examination is the process by which the physician investigates the body of a patient for signs of disease. ... For other uses, see Eye (disambiguation). ... Rombergs test is a neurological test of joint position sense (proprioception). ...


Vestibular ataxia

The term vestibular ataxia is employed to indicate ataxia due to dysfunction of the vestibular system, which in acute and unilateral cases is associated with prominent vertigo, nausea and vomiting. In slow-onset, chronic bilateral cases of vestibular dysfunction, these characteristic manifestations may be absent, and dysequilibrium may be the sole presentation. It has been suggested that Equilibrioception be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Vertigo. ... For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation). ... Emesis redirects here. ...


Causes of ataxia

The three types of ataxia have overlapping causes, and can therefore either coexist or occur in isolation.


Focal lesions

Any type of focal lesion of the central nervous system (such as stroke, brain tumour, multiple sclerosis will cause the type of ataxia corresponding to the site of the lesion: cerebellar if in the cerebellum, sensory if in the dorsal spinal cord (and rarely in the thalamus or parietal lobe), vestibular if in the vestibular system (including the vestibular areas of the cerebral cortex). A diagram showing the CNS: 1. ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ... A brain tumor is any mass created by an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells either found in the brain (neurons, glial cells, epithelial cells, myelin producing cells, etc. ... The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος = bedroom, chamber, IPA= /ˈθæləməs/) is a pair and symmetric part of the brain. ... The parietal lobe is a lobe in the brain. ... For other uses, see Cortex. ...


Exogenous substances

Exogenous substances that cause ataxia mainly do so because they have a depressant effect on central nervous system function. The most common example is ethanol, which is capable of causing overlapping cerebellar and vestibular ataxia. Other examples include both prescription drugs (e.g. most antiepileptic drugs have cerebellar ataxia as a possible unwanted effect) and recreational drugs (e.g. ketamine, PCP). ===Vitamin Thiamin Deficiency may cause, among several neurological abnormalities, overlapping cerebellar and sensory ataxia. Grain alcohol redirects here. ... The anticonvulsants, sometimes also called antiepileptics, belong to a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in prevention of the occurrence of epileptic seizures. ... Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic for use in human and veterinary medicine developed by Parke-Davis (1962). ... PCP may refer to: In politics: Partido Comunista del Peru, also known as Shining Path Partido Comunista Paraguayo, Paraguayan Communist Party Partido Comunista Peruano, Peruvian Communist Party Partido Comunista Português, Portuguese Communist Party Partido Comunista Puertorriqueño, Puerto Rican Communist Party Partit Català Proletari, Proletarian Catalan Party In science...


Causes of isolated sensory ataxia

peripheral neuropathies may cause generalised or localised sensory ataxia (e.g. a limb only) depending on the extent of the neuropathic involvement. Spinal disorders of various types may cause sensory ataxia from the lesioned level below, when they involve the dorsal columns. Peripheral neuropathy is the term for damage to nerves of the peripheral nervous system, which may be caused either by diseases of the nerve or from the side-effects of systemic illness. ...


Non-hereditary cerebellar degeneration

Non-hereditary causes of cerebellar degeneration include chronic ethanol abuse, paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration, high altitude cerebral oedema, coeliac disease, and normal pressure hydrocephalus. Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. ... Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is a paraneoplastic phenomenon associated with lung, ovarian, breast, and other cancers. ... High altitude cerebral edema (or HACE) is a severe (frequently fatal) form of altitude sickness. ... Coeliac disease or celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that occurs in genetically predisposed individuals in all age groups after early infancy. ... Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a chronic type of communicating hydrocephalus whereby the increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) due to accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) becomes stable and that the formation of CSF equilibrates with absorption. ...


Hereditary ataxias

Ataxia may depend on hereditary disorders consisting of degeneration of the cerebellum and/or of the spine; most cases feature both to some extent, and therefore present with overlapping cerebellar and sensory ataxia, even though one is often more evident than the other. Hereditary disorders causing ataxia include autosomal dominant ones such as spinocerebellar ataxia, episodic ataxia, and dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy, as well as autosomal recessive disorders such as Friedreich's ataxia (sensory and cerebellar, with the former predominating), ataxia-telangiectasia (sensory and cerebellar, with the latter predominating), and abetalipoproteinaemia. An example of X-linked ataxic condition is the rare fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome. For the scientific journal Heredity see Heredity (journal) Heredity (the adjective is hereditary) is the transfer of characters from parent to offspring, either through their genes or through the social institution called inheritance (for example, a title of nobility is passed from individual to individual according to relevant customs and... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Dominance relationship. ... Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a genetic disease with multiple types, each of which could be considered a disease in its own right. ... It has been suggested that Episodic Ataxia Type-1 be merged into this article or section. ... ATN1 is a protein found in nervous tissue. ... In genetics, the term recessive gene refers to an allele that causes a phenotype (visible or detectable characteristic) that is only seen in a homozygous genotype (an organism that has two copies of the same allele). ... Friedreichs ataxia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by a mutation in Gene X25 that codes for frataxin, located on chromosome 9. ... Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) (Boder-Sedgwick syndrome or Louis-Bar syndrome) is a primary immunodeficiency disorder that occurs in an estimated incidence of 1 in 40,000 to 1 in 300,000 births (Lederman, 2000). ... Abetalipoproteinemia is a rare genetic disorder that interferes with the normal absorption of fat and fat soluble vitamins from food. ...


Treatment

There is no specific treatment for ataxia as such, although there may be for the underlying cause. The disability of ataxia may be reduced by physical therapy, including exercises, along with leg braces or shoe splints, if foot alignment has been affected; a cane or walker is often used in the effort to prevent falls.


External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Ataxia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (340 words)
Ataxia (from Greek ataxiā, meaning failure to put in order) is unsteady and clumsy motion of the limbs or trunk due to a failure of the gross coordination of muscle movements.
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.
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.
Dr. Koop - Friedreich's Ataxia- Health Encyclopedia and Reference (721 words)
Ataxia is defined as the failure of muscle coordination that generally results in an unsteady gait and balance, limb or eye movements, and/or speech.
Friedreich's Ataxia is named after a German neurologist, Nikolaus Friedreich, who, in 1863, described this rare, inherited disease to the medical community.
Friedreich's Ataxia is caused by an abnormality in one of the genes, called X25, located in the ninth chromosome pair.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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