Monday, November 21, 2022

Determinant of the Cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome in Friedreich Ataxia

destrebecq, comet, deveylder, alaerts, naeije.; Research Square; 2022. DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2279266/v1. 

CCAS is highly prevalent in adult individuals with FRDA. CCAS is predicted by ataxic motor symptoms severity. This finding supports common core cerebellar pathophysiology in both cognitive and motor symptoms in FRDA and warrants screening for CCAS, especially in patients with SARA > 20.

Harmonizing results of ataxia rating scales: mFARS, SARA, and ICARS

Rummey C, Harding IH, Delatycki MB, Tai G, Rezende T, Corben LA.; Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2022 Nov 16. doi: 10.1002/acn3.51686. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36394163. 

 The ever-increasing body of ataxia research provides opportunities for large-scale meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and data aggregation. Because multiple standardized scales are used to quantify ataxia severity, harmonization of these measures is necessary for quantitative data pooling. We applied the modified Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale (mFARS), the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA), and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) to a large cohort of people with Friedreich's ataxia. We provide regression coefficients for scale interconversion and discuss the reliability of this approach, together with insights into the differential sensitivities of mFARS and SARA to disease progression.