Overview

When you have ataxia, your lack of coordination causes you to move unsteadily, uncomfortable, or clumsy. It typically indicates an issue with your nervous system, your hearing, or a specific region of your brain. A set of illnesses or symptoms of other illnesses can be referred to as ataxia. Ataxia is a very frequent symptom. Ataxia is a rare ailment that usually only occurs in conjunction with specific genetic disorders and diseases. Ataxia can occur in three primary ways and has three basic forms.

Cerebellar: The cerebellum, a region of the brain that controls how various brain regions function together, is the source of this particular type of ataxia.

Sensory: Your body possesses a “self-positioning” sense that allows your brain to keep track of the locations of each body part. How you can still locate your hands and feet even though you can’t see them illustrates this (such as with your eyes closed or in a dark room). Your sense of self-positioning is interfered with by sensory ataxia.

Vestibular: The inner ears, which are a component of your sense of balance, are the issue of this type. It’s challenging to coordinate your movements when your sense of balance is off.

Symptoms

Causes

There are numerous potential causes of ataxia because of various conditions. The causes are divided into the following groups by experts:

. These are ailments or factors that influence you at some point in your life. Some of these reasons are transient or curable.

. These are hereditary disorders that you can either inherit from one parent or both.

. When a fetus develops in the uterus, spontaneous DNA mutations occur randomly and cause certain illnesses. You may experience symptoms as an adult if you have one of these mutations, which are not passed down from either of your parents. When they cannot pinpoint the cause, they use another word, “idiopathic.”

Ataxia may result from a variety of conditions or circumstances, such as:

Diagnosis

TREATMENT

Ataxia does not have a specific treatment. In some circumstances, fixing the underlying issue may help the ataxia get better. Other instances, such as ataxia brought on by chickenpox or other viral diseases, are more likely to go away independently. Your doctor can suggest adaptable tools or treatments aid manage your ataxia. Treatments may help with other symptoms like stiffness, tremor, and dizziness.