National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Hereditary ataxia


Subtypes:
Autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia; Autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia, deafness, and narcolepsy; Autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia 9; Autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia; Autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia, deafness, and narcolepsy; Autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia 9; Dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy; Episodic ataxia; Hypomyelination with atrophy of basal ganglia and cerebellum; Infantile onset spinocerebellar ataxia; Spinocerebellar ataxia; Spinocerebellar ataxia 1; Spinocerebellar ataxia 10; Spinocerebellar ataxia 11; Spinocerebellar ataxia 12; Spinocerebellar ataxia 13; Spinocerebellar ataxia 14; Spinocerebellar ataxia 15; Spinocerebellar ataxia 17; Spinocerebellar ataxia 18; Spinocerebellar ataxia 19 and 22; Spinocerebellar ataxia 2; Spinocerebellar ataxia 20; Spinocerebellar ataxia 21; Spinocerebellar ataxia 23; Spinocerebellar ataxia 25; Spinocerebellar ataxia 26; Spinocerebellar ataxia 27; Spinocerebellar ataxia 28; Spinocerebellar ataxia 29; Spinocerebellar ataxia 3; Spinocerebellar ataxia 30; Spinocerebellar ataxia 31; Spinocerebellar ataxia 34; Spinocerebellar ataxia 35; Spinocerebellar ataxia 36; Spinocerebellar ataxia 37; Spinocerebellar ataxia 38; Spinocerebellar ataxia 4; Spinocerebellar ataxia 40; Spinocerebellar ataxia 5; Spinocerebellar ataxia 7; Spinocerebellar ataxia 8; Spinocerebellar ataxia 9; Spinocerebellar ataxia autosomal recessive 3; Spinocerebellar ataxia autosomal recessive 4; Spinocerebellar ataxia autosomal recessive 5; Spinocerebellar ataxia autosomal recessive 6; Spinocerebellar ataxia autosomal recessive 7; Spinocerebellar ataxia autosomal recessive 8; Spinocerebellar ataxia autosomal recessive with axonal neuropathy; Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6; Spinocerebellar ataxia with dysmorphism; Spinocerebellar ataxia X-linked type 2; Spinocerebellar ataxia X-linked type 3; Spinocerebellar ataxia X-linked type 4 See More

If you need medical advice, you can look for doctors or other healthcare professionals who have experience with this disease. You may find these specialists through advocacy organizations, clinical trials, or articles published in medical journals. You may also want to contact a university or tertiary medical center in your area, because these centers tend to see more complex cases and have the latest technology and treatments.

If you can’t find a specialist in your local area, try contacting national or international specialists. They may be able to refer you to someone they know through conferences or research efforts. Some specialists may be willing to consult with you or your local doctors over the phone or by email if you can't travel to them for care.

You can find more tips in our guide, How to Find a Disease Specialist. We also encourage you to explore the rest of this page to find resources that can help you find specialists.

Healthcare Resources

  • The National Ataxia Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons affected by ataxia, provides lists of neurologists, ataxia clinics, and movement disorder clinics.

Research helps us better understand diseases and can lead to advances in diagnosis and treatment. This section provides resources to help you learn about medical research and ways to get involved.

Clinical Research Resources

  • ClinicalTrials.gov lists trials that are related to Hereditary ataxia. Click on the link to go to ClinicalTrials.gov to read descriptions of these studies.

    Please note: Studies listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website are listed for informational purposes only; being listed does not reflect an endorsement by GARD or the NIH. We strongly recommend that you talk with a trusted healthcare provider before choosing to participate in any clinical study.

Patient Registry

  • Coordination of Rare Diseases at Sanford (CoRDS) hosts a specific registry for patients with ataxia in partnership with the National Ataxia Foundation. The goal of the CoRDS registry is to connect as many patients and researchers as possible to help advance treatments and cures for rare diseases. The CoRDS registry is free for patients to enroll and for researchers to access.

Support and advocacy groups can help you connect with other patients and families, and they can provide valuable services. Many develop patient-centered information and are the driving force behind research for better treatments and possible cures. They can direct you to research, resources, and services. Many organizations also have experts who serve as medical advisors or provide lists of doctors/clinics. Visit the group’s website or contact them to learn about the services they offer. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement by GARD.

Organizations Supporting this Disease

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

In-Depth Information

  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know.