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Friedreich Ataxia

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Definition

Friedreich's ataxia is a rare disease passed down through families (inherited) that affects the muscles and heart.

Symptoms

Symptoms are caused by the wearing away of structures in areas of the brain and spinal cord that control coordination, muscle movement, and some sensory functions. Symptoms generally begin in childhood before puberty, and may include:

Abnormal speech
Changes in vision, particularly color vision
Decrease in ability to feel vibrations in lower limbs
Foot problems, such as hammer toe and high arches
Hearing loss -- occurs in about 10% of patients
Jerky eye movements
Loss of coordination and balance, which leads to frequent falls
Muscle weakness
No reflexes in the legs
Unsteady gait and uncoordinated movements (ataxia) -- gets worse with time

Muscle problems lead to changes in the spine, which may result in scoliosis or kyphoscoliosis.

Heart disease usually develops and may lead to heart failure. Death may result from heart failure or dysrhythmias that do not respond to treatment. Diabetes may develop in later stages of the disease.

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Unsteady Gait
Gait and balance problems exist when a disease process, trauma, or aging result in the inability to control one's center of gravity (COG) over the base of support (BOS) in static or dynamic tasks and environments. More »
Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health

Ataxia
Uncoordinated movement is muscle control problem or an inability to finely coordinate movements, which results in a jerky, unsteady, to-and-fro motion of the middle of the body (trunk) and unsteady gait (walking style. The condition is called ataxia. More »
ADAM

Hearing Impairment
Hearing loss is the total or partial inability to hear sound in one or both ears. See also: Hearing loss of aging More »
ADAM

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