Clinical Research Directory

Natural History of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 7 (SCA7)

Background: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is a disease in which people have problems with coordination, balance, speech and vision. It is caused by a change in the ATXN7 gene. A mutation in this ATXN7 gene causes changes in eye cells, which can lead to vision loss. There is no cure for SCA7 but researchers are looking for possible treatments. Researchers need more information about SCA7. They want to collect vision and neurology related data from people with SCA7. They want to learn how and what changes in the eye and brain when the ATXN7 gene isn t working properly. Objective: To learn more about SCA7 and its progression. Eligibility: People ages 12 and older with SCA7. Design: Participants will be screened with medical history and genetic testing from a previous National Eye Institute study or their personal physician. Participants will have at least 7 visits over 5 years. They will have 2 visits during the first week of the study. Then they will be asked to come back every year for the next 5 years. Each visit will last several days and will include: * Medical and eye history * Several eye tests: some will include dilating the pupil with eye drops and taking photos or scans of the eyes. * Electroretinography (ERG): Participants will sit in the dark with their eyes patched for 30 minutes. After this, the patches will be removed and contact lenses put into the eyes. They will watch flashing lights and information will be recorded. * Neurological exams: Sensation, strength, coordination, reflexes, attention, memory, language, and other cognitive functions will be tested. * Brain MRI: They will lie in a machine that takes pictures of the brain. * Blood and urine tests * Optional skin biopsy: About 3 millimeters of skin will be removed for more research testing; this is half the size of a pencil eraser.

Wearable Gait Sensors

This research study is testing body-worn sensors to measure movement during simple tests of coordination, in order to evaluate the progression and severity of Spinocerebellar ataxia.

Ophthalmological Disorders in Dominant Spinal-cerebellar Ataxias

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) are rare genetic neurological disorders. The most common forms are SCA1, SCA2 and SCA3. Another more recently identified cause of ataxia is SCA27B. These are progressive, incapacitating pathologies, with adult onset (generally between 30 and 60 years of age) and progressive involvement. They are characterized by gait instability (ataxia), coordination disorders (dysmetria) and speech disorders (dysarthria). A complex disorder may also be present, with impaired ocular motility, double vision (diplopia) and difficulties with eye movements (ophthalmoplegia). In clinical practice, investigators have observed patients with advanced forms of SCA1 or SCA3 reporting a progressive decline in visual acuity. Other recent scientific observations confirm the possible presence of additional ophthalmological damage to the retina or optic nerve in SCA1, SCA2 and SCA3 pathologies. This study is a cross-sectional study, including subjects with SCA1, SCA2 and SCA3 at different stages of the disease, including the presymptomatic stage, with a complete and systematic study of visual damage. The same study will be applied to subjects with SCA27B in order to study the presence or absence of visual impairment, and possibly compare it with those of patients with polyglutamine-expanded SCA.

The Study of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Regulation of Spinocerebellar Ataxia

Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a group of hereditary neurological diseases caused by gene mutations leading to degenerative changes in the cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord. A key pathogenic mechanism of SCA is the repeated expansion of cytosine - adenine - guanine (CAG) trinucleotides in the coding region of specific genes. These repeated expansions are translated into abnormally large polyglutamine (PolyQ) tracts in proteins. These polyglutamine (PolyQ) tracts can cause changes in the excitability of the cerebral cortex in SCA patients. Quantitative electroencephalogram analysis (qEEG) is a modern type of electroencephalogram analysis that uses complex mathematical algorithms to process, transform, and analyze EEG signals, bringing new technologies for EEG signal feature extraction: specific frequency band and signal complexity analysis, connectivity analysis, and network analysis. It is sensitive to early neurodegenerative lesions. Using spectral analysis, nonlinear dynamics analysis, and functional connectivity analysis, we can explore the changes in cortical excitability and abnormal brain networks in SCA patients. Currently, the exploration of the quantitative electroencephalogram characteristics of SCA patients is still insufficient.

Effects of Oral Administration of Antrodia Cinnamomea Products for Clinical Symptoms in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Patients

This study aims to assess the effect of Antrodia cinnamomea on clinical symptoms in spinocerebellar ataxia patients. To investigate the advancements in neurodegenerative diseases.

Hong Kong Spinocerebellar Ataxias Registry

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) 1, 2, 3 and 6 are the most common, autosomal dominantly inherited cerebellar degenerations. And in the Chinese population, the most common SCA is SCA3 and the frequency of SCA 3 among SCA patients is 72.5%, followed by SCA 2 that the frequency is 12% among SCA patients. For SCA 1, the frequency among SCA patients is 7%. Even SCAs are rare diseases, a significant amount of Chinese in Hong Kong still suffer from this disorders. SCA Association in Hong Kong has 88 members who are suffering from spinocerebellar degeneration, many of them have a genetic confirmation. As there are few treatments for SCAs; therefore, understanding SCAs clinical manifestation and disease mechanisms are the first step towards development of effective treatment. The objective of this study is to develop the first SCA registry in Hong Kong with bio-repository bank for clinical and genetic information as well as serum and fibroblasts.

The EUROSCA Natural History Study

The key goals of EUROSCA-NHS is to determine and compare the rate of disease progression in SCA1, SCA2, SCA3 and SCA6 including determination of the order and occurrence of non-ataxia symptoms, assessment of activities of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QoL), and identification of predictors of disease progression and survival.