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Some 10 years ago, Kyle Bryant and his parents, Mike and Diana, were casting about for a way to make a difference in the fight against Friedreich’s ataxia, the neurodegenerative disorder that Kyle — at age 17 — was diagnosed with in 1998. “We decided that we needed to…

More than 20 presentations at IARC 2017, the recently concluded International Ataxia Research Conference in Pisa, Italy, focused on treatments, demonstrating the progress scientists are making in expanding the therapy pipeline. This observation came from Jennifer Farmer, executive director of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, one of the three…

Protein replacement is one of several cutting-edge approaches to treating ataxias that generated a buzz at IARC 2017, the International Ataxia Research Conference that concluded Saturday in Pisa, Italy. One scientist helping to pioneer this approach is Mark Payne, a pediatric cardiologist, mitochondria expert and Friedreich’s…

Administering small molecules that mimic factors naturally found in the brain to a mouse model of Friedreich’s ataxia increased levels of frataxin expression in both the brain and heart — two organs highly affected in people with the disease. The study, “Neurotrophic factor and cytokine mimetics as new potential therapeutic agents for Friedreich’s…

New viral vectors were found to effectively transfer a normal and protein-producing frataxin gene into major tissues affected by Friedreich’s ataxia — including the brain and the heart — in non-human primates, a new study showed. The study was presented by Holger Patzke of Voyager Therapeutics at IARC 2017 in a presentation Saturday titled “Intravenous delivery of AAV gene therapy to…

Using a gene therapy strategy similar to one previously shown to reverse heart problems in a Friedreich’s ataxia mouse model, researchers also corrected sensory symptoms associated with the disease in another mouse model. These results suggest that gene therapy may effectively treat different features of Friedreich’s ataxia. Hélène Puccio with the Institut de Genetique…

Omaveloxolone (RTA 408), an investigation medicine by Reata Pharmaceuticals, improves neurological function in people with Friedreich’s ataxia, according to results from part one of the MOXIe trial presented today at IARC 2017. David Lynch, a pediatric neurologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a principal investigator for the Phase 2 clinical study, delivered these…

Giving mice who serve as a model of cardiac defects in Friedreich’s ataxia a molecule known to improve heart function in cardiac mice did help to improve how their hearts worked — but only if a mitochondrial protein, known as SIRT3, was present, a study reported at IARC 2017. Angel Martin, of…

Patients with spinocerebellar ataxia 38 (SCA38) showed improved scores in two different scales — SARA (Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia) and ICARS (International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale) — after about 24 weeks of using docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as a supplement, a study reported at IARC 2017. DHA is…

Many scientists working on ataxia therapies focus on the movement, balance and heart problems that are the hallmarks of these neurological diseases. But a panel of five patients and caregivers at IARC 2017 asked researchers Friday not to forget the vision, hearing, and speech difficulties that a lot of patients…