As a symptom of an underlying condition, ataxia can affect a variety of movements and cause problems with speech, eye movement, and swallowing. It is defined as a lack of muscle control or coordination of voluntary movements, such as walking or picking up objects.
Multiple conditions, including alcohol abuse, certain medications, stroke, tumor, cerebral palsy, brain degeneration, and multiple sclerosis, can cause ataxia, as can inherited defective genes. Persistent ataxia typically results from damage to the part of your brain that controls muscle coordination (cerebellum).
Symptoms
Ataxia, a symptom of several neurological disorders, may appear gradually or suddenly and cause:
· Poor coordination
Swaying gait and propensity to fall
Difficulty performing fine motor activities like writing, eating, or buttoning a shirt
· Change in speech
Nystagmus is an uncontrollable jerking of the eyes.
· Difficulty swallowing
Causes
Ataxia is a condition in which the cerebellum, which is made up of two folded portions of tissue located at the base of the brain near the brainstem and controls muscle coordination, is damaged, degenerated, or loses nerve cells. The cerebellum is involved in balance, eye movements, swallowing, and speech.
Ataxia can also be brought on by conditions that harm the peripheral nerves that link the cerebellum to the muscles and the spinal cord.
·Head trauma.Acute cerebellar ataxia is a sudden, onset condition that can be brought on by head trauma that damages the brain or spinal cord. This could happen in a car accident.
·Stroke.The blood supply to a portion of your brain is interrupted or significantly reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients, which causes brain cells to die. This condition is known as ataxia and can be brought on by either a blockage or bleeding in the brain.
·Cerebral palsy.This is a collective term for a variety of mental health conditions that affect a child’s ability to control their body movements and are brought on by brain damage sustained in the womb, during pregnancy, or soon after birth.
·Autoimmune diseases.Ataxia may be brought on by autoimmune diseases like celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, and sarcoidosis.
- Infections.Ataxia, which may develop during the healing stages of an infection and last for a few days or weeks, is an uncommon complication of chickenpox and other viral infections, including HIV and Lyme disease.
- Paraneoplastic syndromes.Ataxia can appear months or years before the cancer is identified. These are uncommon, degenerative diseases brought on by your immune system’s reaction to a cancerous tumor (neoplasm), most frequently from lung, ovarian, breast, or lymphatic cancer.
- Abnormalities in the brain.A growth on the brain, whether cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign), can harm the cerebellum and result in ataxia if it is an infected area (abscess) in the brain.
- Toxic reaction.Some medications, particularly barbiturates like phenobarbital, sedatives like benzodiazepines, antiepileptic drugs like phenytoin, and some types of chemotherapy, as well as vitamin B-6 toxicity, may have the side effect of ataxia, which is important to recognize because the effects are frequently reversible.
- Additionally, as you get older, certain medications may become problematic for you, necessitating a dose reduction or medication withdrawal.
Ataxia can also result from drug and alcohol intoxication, poisoning with heavy metals like lead or mercury, and poisoning with solvents like paint thinner.
- Vitamin E, vitamin B-12 or thiamine deficiency.Ataxia can result from inadequate nutrient intake brought on by inadequate nutrient absorption, alcohol abuse, or other factors.
- Thyroid problems.Ataxia may result from hypothyroidism or hypoparathyroidism.
Sporadic ataxia can occur in a variety of ways, including multiple system atrophy, a progressive, degenerative disorder, for some adults for whom no identifiable cause can be identified.
Hereditary ataxias
When you have one of these conditions, you were born with a defect in a specific gene that produces abnormal proteins, so if you have one of the conditions that cause ataxia or some types of ataxia, you are likely to inherit it.
As the disease progresses, coordination issues become more severe because the abnormal proteins impair nerve cells’ ability to function, primarily in your cerebellum and spinal cord.
A genetic ataxia can be inherited from either a dominant gene from one parent (autosomal dominant disorder) or a recessive gene from both parents (autosomal recessive disorder), in which case it’s possible that neither parent has the condition (silent mutation), so there may not be a clear family history.
Ataxias are a group of disorders characterized by poor coordination caused by various gene defects, the majority of which are progressive.
Autosomal dominant ataxias
These include:
·Spinocerebellar ataxias.Cerebellar ataxia and cerebellar degeneration are common to all types of autosomal dominant ataxia, but other symptoms and age of onset vary depending on the particular gene mutation.
·Episodic ataxia (EA).The most prevalent types of episodic ataxia are EA1 and EA2, which involve brief ataxic episodes that can last seconds or minutes and are frequently accompanied by muscle twitching. There are eight recognized types of episodic ataxia that are not progressive — EA1 through EA7, plus late-onset episodic ataxia.
You may experience vertigo (vertigo), exhaustion, and muscle weakness while experiencing longer episodes of EA2, which are also triggered by stress. In some cases, symptoms of EA2 go away in later life.
Although symptoms of episodic ataxia may improve with treatment, the condition does not shorten life expectancy.
Autosomal recessive ataxias
These include:
·Friedreich’s ataxia.Peripheral nerves, which transmit signals from your brain and spinal cord to your muscles, as well as damage to your cerebellum, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves are all involved in this common hereditary ataxia.
The disease generally begins with difficulty walking (gait ataxia), progresses to the arms and trunk, and eventually causes deformities, especially in the feet, lower legs, and hands. The rate of disease progression varies.
Early treatment of heart issues, such as heart enlargement (cardiomyopathy) and heart failure, can improve quality of life and survival. Other signs and symptoms that may appear as the disease progresses include slow, slurred speech (dysarthria), fatigue, rapid, involuntary eye movements (nystagmus), scoliosis, and hearing loss.
- Ataxia-telangiectasia.In addition to causing immune system breakdown (immunodeficiency disease), which increases susceptibility to other diseases, including infections and tumors, this uncommon, progressive childhood disease affects a variety of organs and causes degeneration in the brain and other body systems.
Recurrent sinus and respiratory infections are frequent, and delayed motor skill development, poor balance, and slurred speech are usually the first signs of telangiectasia. Telangiectasia is characterized by the formation of tiny red “spider” veins that may appear in the corners of your child’s eyes, on the ears, and on the cheeks.
Most people with ataxia-telangiectasia require a wheelchair by their teens and pass away before age 30, usually from cancer or lung (pulmonary) disease. Children with ataxia-telangiectasia are at high risk of developing cancer, particularly leukemia or lymphoma.
- Congenital cerebellar ataxia.The cerebellum, which is already damaged at birth, causes this kind of ataxia.
- Wilson’s disease.Early detection of this disorder can lead to treatment that will slow progression because people with this condition accumulate copper in their brains, livers, and other organs, which can cause neurological issues, including ataxia.
Diagnosis
Your doctor may order laboratory tests in addition to a physical examination and a neurological examination that includes testing your reflexes, balance, coordination, reflex memory, and hearing, as well as your vision, hearing, and balance. These tests might include:
·Imaging studies.A CT scan or MRI of your brain may be helpful in identifying potential causes. An MRI can occasionally reveal cerebellar atrophy and other treatable findings, such as a blood clot or benign tumor that may be pressing on your cerebellum, in ataxia patients.
·Lumbar puncture (spinal tap).The cerebrospinal fluid, which surrounds and shields your brain and spinal cord, is taken from your lower back (lumbar region) between two lumbar vertebrae and sent to a laboratory for analysis.
·Genetic testing.Gene tests are available for many, but not all, of the hereditary ataxias, and your doctor may suggest genetic testing to find out if you or your child has the gene mutation that results in one of the hereditary ataxic conditions.
HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES
When it comes to ataxia, there are many effective medicines available in homoeopathy, but the choice depends on the individuality of the patient, taking mental and physical symptomatology into account. Homoeopathy is currently a rapidly growing system that is being practiced all over the world. Its strength lies in its evident effectiveness as it takes a holistic approach towards the sick individual through promotion of inner balance at mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical levels.
EARLY STAGE
ARGENTUM NITRICUMUnable to stand in the dark or with their eyes closed. Unsteady walking and standing, especially when left alone. Legs that feel like they are made of wood or padded. Trembling of the limbs. Loss of papillary reflexes, and possibly incontinence of urine. Useful in the early stages. Argentum nitricum.
Sharp, piercing pains, worse at night, sometimes so severe that the patient has to scream, pains in the thighs that come in paroxysms, loss of patellar reflex, paralysis with atrophy, loss of muscle coordination, anesthesia, and impotence are all symptoms of plumbum metallicum.
BELLADONNABelladonna is recommended for the first stage of the disease, which is characterized by the incoordination of the upper and lower extremities, as well as diplopia, amaurosis, trembling of the limbs, and a tottering gait. Belladonna is also effective for the final stage of the disease, which is characterized by the patient raising his leg slowly and putting it down with great force.
NUX VOMICAA helpful treatment for ataxia in the early stages. Ataxia in alcoholics. Legs feel numb and paralyzed in the morning. Dragging feet while walking. Legs feel heavy.
ZINCUM METALLICUM— Zincum is also a treatment that is effective in the beginning stages of these symptoms: stumbling, spastic, gait totters while walking, especially in the dark and with closed eyes; sweaty feet with sore toes; formication of the feet and legs as of insects crawling over the skin; prevent sleep; better rubbing and pressure; twitches and jerks throughout the body while sleeping.
ADVANCED STAGES
ALUMINAStutters when walking; legs feel numb, especially when sitting cross-legged; legs are heavy and difficult to lift; heels feel numb when stepping; soles are tender; on stepping, they feel soft and swollen; coordination is impaired; he is unable to walk except when his eyes are open and during the day; his legs feel as though ants are crawling up them; his extremities fall asleep; his back hurts as if hot iron were thrust through the vertebrae;
Unsteady gait, falling forward or sideways, contraction of the instep with excruciating pain when stepping, tongue feeling paralyzed—all these symptoms are caused by the causticum.
GELSEMIUM SEMPERVIRENSUnsteady gait, fatigue after light exercise, pain in the sole of the foot when walking, excessive trembling and weakness of limbs, and spasmodic contraction of toes are some of the hallmark symptoms of Gelsemium. Lack of muscular co-ordination, muscles that refuse to obey the wills, complete relaxation and prostration of the entire muscular system, and mortor paralysis are also present.
HELODERMA–-Staggering gait; cock’s gait; puts heel down firmly when walking; feet cold as ice or burn; sensation as if walking on sponge; numbness and trembling; feet feel swollen.
**LATHYRUS SATIVUS—**Heels do not touch the ground when walking, gluteal muscles and lower limb muscles are emaciated, feet are dragged or forcedly put down while walking, and while the legs are down, they can be moved from side to side but not lifted.
PHOSPHORUS-Phosphorus should be taken when ataxia is present and there are eye complaints, atrophy of the optic nerve, flushes of light, dim vision, blurred vision, and diplopia. There is also a great deal of nervous prostration, trembling of the hands while writing, sharp pains throughout the body, burning along the spine, and burning in the extremities with formication.
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