Treatable ataxias are a group of ataxic disorders with specific treatments. These disorders include genetic and metabolic disorders, immune-mediated ataxic disorders, and ataxic disorders associated with infectious and parainfectious etiology, vascular causes, toxins and chemicals, and endocrinopathies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of different treatable ataxias. The major metabolic and genetic treatable ataxic disorders include ataxia with vitamin E deficiency, abetalipoproteinemia, cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis, Niemann-Pick disease type C, autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia due to coenzyme Q10 deficiency, glucose transporter type 1 deficiency, and episodic ataxia type 2. The treatment of these disorders includes the replacement of deficient cofactors and vitamins, dietary modifications, and other specific treatments. Treatable ataxias with immune-mediated etiologies include gluten ataxia, anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody-associated ataxia, steroid-responsive encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroiditis, Miller-Fisher syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration. Although dietary modification with a gluten-free diet is adequate in gluten ataxia, other autoimmune ataxias are managed by short-course steroids, plasma exchange, or immunomodulation. For autoimmune ataxias secondary to malignancy, treatment of tumor can reduce ataxic symptoms. Chronic alcohol consumption, antiepileptics, anticancer drugs, exposure to insecticides, heavy metals, and recreational drugs are potentially avoidable and treatable causes of ataxia. Infective and parainfectious causes of cerebellar ataxias include acute cerebellitis, postinfectious ataxia, Whipple’s disease, meningoencephalitis, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. These disorders are treated with steroids and antibiotics. Recognizing treatable disorders is of paramount importance when dealing with ataxias given that early treatment can prevent permanent neurological sequelae.
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Methods This study was a retrospective chart review of patients with dystonia who had undergone CES for the evaluation of dystonia.
Results Forty-eight patients (35 males, 46 families) with dystonia were studied, with a mean age at onset of 16.0 ± 14.1 (1–58) years. A pathogenic/likely pathogenic variant was found in 20 patients (41.7%) among which 14 patients (29.2%) carried a novel variant. CES was more likely to detect a genetic diagnosis in patients with an early age at onset, i.e., ≤ 20 years.
Conclusion CES is a useful tool in the diagnostic evaluation of dystonia, with a yield of close to 40%. Patients with an earlier age at onset have a higher likelihood of having dystonia due to a genetic cause than those with a later age at onset.
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Results All subjects in this cohort reported at least 2 NMSs. The most prevalent NMSs in patients with PSP were in the domains of sleep/fatigue, mood/cognition, and sexual function. The least prevalent NMSs were in the domains of cardiovascular including falls, and perceptual problems/hallucinations. Significant correlations were observed between the NMSS scores and HAM-D, PDSS, PSPRS scores and PSPRS sub-scores. The severity of NMSs was unrelated to the duration of illness. Patients with PSP-RS reported a higher severity of drooling, altered smell/taste, depression and altered interest in sex and a higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction.
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