MRI imaging indicates that Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) patients have impairments in proprioception — sensory processing related to body movement and location — relative to healthy adults, but these changes do not contribute to overall disease severity, according to recent research. Brain responses to tactile stimulation (light touch) were similar…
Researchers are conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and molecular effects of dimethyl fumarate (DMF), an approved treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) and psoriasis, in people with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA). Based on both preclinical research and clinical studies in MS patients, it…
Supplementation with butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid produced in the gut by good bacteria, reversed many diabetes-like metabolic defects found in fat tissue from a mouse model of Friedreich’s ataxia, a study reported. In addition to its effects on metabolism, butyrate lowered signs of ongoing inflammation observed in FA…
Three mouse models of Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) do not accurately reflect FA-associated cardiomyopathy — a serious heart complication — as seen in patients, underscoring the difficulties in modeling this complication, a study reports. Across these different models, only one exhibited gene activity changes in the heart consistent with cardiomyopathy…
Sparking conversations about ataxia — a group of disorders that include Friedreich’s ataxia believed to affect 26 of every 100,000 children globally — will be the chief aim of this year’s annual International Ataxia Awareness Day (IAAD), set for Sept. 25. The 23-year-old event is organized by the…
People with Friedreich’s ataxia who were treated with Skyclarys (omaveloxolone) in the MOXIe trial and its extension for three years had more than 50% slower disease progression compared with patients in a natural history study, according to a new analysis. “The present results show a meaningful slowing of…
Worse ataxia at an initial assessment predicted poor outcomes after four years in people with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), according to a natural history study. The speed of disease progression was different, fastest in those in the earliest disease stages and gradually slowing as it advanced. Being younger at the…
Researchers have developed a new mouse model of Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) that captures coordination and muscle strength impairment seen in patients, a study reports. The model was created by worsening symptoms of a standard mouse model by further suppressing production of the frataxin protein, which is deficient in FA…
An observational study in Europe is using a mobile health app to better understand how Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) affects patients’ health-related quality of life, as well as their economic and psychosocial well-being, in real time. Called PROFA, the study is taking place across six centers in Germany, Austria, and…
Treatment with interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), an immune signaling molecule, helped to protect against damage in a cellular model of Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), a study reports. Although IFN-gamma failed to show clear benefits in clinical trials, these new findings “could help in the design of better therapeutic schedules and shed…
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