Rehabilitation of friedreich ataxia

Abstract

Friedreich ataxia is the most common of the inherited ataxias affecting approximately one in 30 000 people [1]. The major sites of neuropathology in Friedreich ataxia are the dorsal root ganglia, sensory fibers in the peripheral nerves, the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, posterior columns of the spinal cord, spinocerebellar tracts, and corticospinal tracts [2–4]. Clinical features include ataxia of gait and upper limbs, atrophy and weakness of the distal extremities, spasticity, absent ankle and knee jerks, up-going plantar responses, loss of joint and vibratory senses, foot deformity, scoliosis, dysarthria, cardiomyopathy, and diabetes mellitus [5, 6]. The combination of the clinical fe..