Friedreich Ataxia (FRDA)

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MedlinePlus Genetics: ⁴² Friedreich ataxia is a genetic condition that affects the nervous system and causes movement problems. People with this condition develop impaired muscle coordination (ataxia) that worsens over time. Other features of this condition include the gradual loss of strength and sensation in the arms and legs; muscle stiffness (spasticity); and impaired speech, hearing, and vision. Individuals with Friedreich ataxia often have a form of heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which enlarges and weakens the heart muscle and can be life-threatening. Some affected individuals develop diabetes or an abnormal curvature of the spine (scoliosis).Most people with Friedreich ataxia begin to experience the signs and symptoms of the disorder between ages 5 and 15. Poor coordination and balance are often the first noticeable features. Affected individuals typically require the use of a wheelchair about 10 years after signs and symptoms appear.About 25 percent of people with Friedreich ataxia have an atypical form in which signs and symptoms begin after age 25. Affected individuals who develop Friedreich ataxia between ages 26 and 39 are considered to have late-onset Friedreich ataxia (LOFA). When the signs and symptoms begin after age 40 the condition is called very late-onset Friedreich ataxia (VLOFA). LOFA and VLOFA usually progress more slowly than typical Friedreich ataxia.

MalaCards based summary: Friedreich Ataxia, also known as friedreich ataxia 1, is related to friedreich ataxia 2 and ataxia with vitamin e deficiency, and has symptoms including ataxia, tremor and myoclonus. An important gene associated with Friedreich Ataxia is FXN (Frataxin). The drugs Citalopram and Bupropion have been mentioned in the context of this disorder. Affiliated tissues include heart, spinal cord and eye, and related phenotypes are gait ataxia and dysarthria

NINDS: ⁵² Friedreich ataxia is a rare inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system. It is caused by a defect in the FXN gene that produces the protein frataxin. Frataxin controls important steps in mitochondrial iron metabolism and overall cell iron stability. Research suggests that cells that have a reduced level of frataxin produce energy less effectively, which may lead to a buildup of toxic byproducts. Symptoms typically appear between ages 5 and 15 years but can begin in adulthood. Damage to the peripheral nerves and the cerebellum (part of the brain that coordinates balance and movement) results in awkward, unsteady movements and impaired muscle coordination (ataxia) that worsens and eventually spreads to the arms and the trunk of the body. Other symptoms include loss of sensory function, speech problems, and vision and hearing loss. Thinking and reasoning abilities are not affected. Many people with Friedreich ataxia develop scoliosis (a curving of the spine to one side), which, if severe, may impair breathing. Some individuals may develop diabetes.

MedlinePlus: ⁴¹ Friedreich ataxia is an inherited disease that damages your nervous system. The damage affects your spinal cord and the nerves that control muscle movement in your arms and legs. Symptoms usually begin between the ages of 5 and 15. The main symptom is ataxia, which means trouble coordinating movements. Specific symptoms include: Difficulty walking Muscle weakness Speech problems Involuntary eye movements Scoliosis (curving of the spine to one side) Heart palpitations, from the heart disease which can happen along with Friedreich ataxia People with Friedreich ataxia usually need a wheelchair 15 to 20 years after symptoms first appear. In severe cases, people become incapacitated. There is no cure. You can treat symptoms with medicines, braces, surgery, and physical therapy. NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

GARD: ¹⁹ Friedreich ataxia is an inherited condition that affects the nervous system and causes movement problems. People with this condition develop impaired muscle coordination (ataxia) that worsens over time. Other features include the gradual loss of strength and sensation in the arms and legs, muscle stiffness (spasticity), and impaired speech. Many individuals have a form of heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Some develop diabetes, impaired vision, hearing loss, or an abnormal curvature of the spine (scoliosis). Most people with Friedreich ataxia begin to experience the signs and symptoms around puberty. This condition is caused by genetic changes in the FXN gene and is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.

OMIM®: ⁵⁷ Friedreich ataxia is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive gait and limb ataxia with associated limb muscle weakness, absent lower limb reflexes, extensor plantar responses, dysarthria, and decreased vibratory sense and proprioception. Onset is usually in the first or second decade, before the end of puberty. It is one of the most common forms of autosomal recessive ataxia, occurring in about 1 in 50,000 individuals. Other variable features include visual defects, scoliosis, pes cavus, and cardiomyopathy (review by Delatycki et al., 2000). Pandolfo (2008) provided an overview of Friedreich ataxia, including pathogenesis, mutation mechanisms, and genotype/phenotype correlation. (229300) (Updated 08-Dec-2022)

UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot: ⁷³ Autosomal recessive, progressive degenerative disease characterized by neurodegeneration and cardiomyopathy it is the most common inherited ataxia. The disorder is usually manifest before adolescence and is generally characterized by incoordination of limb movements, dysarthria, nystagmus, diminished or absent tendon reflexes, Babinski sign, impairment of position and vibratory senses, scoliosis, pes cavus, and hammer toe. In most patients, FRDA is due to GAA triplet repeat expansions in the first intron of the frataxin gene. But in some cases the disease is due to mutations in the coding region.

Orphanet: ⁵⁸ Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder classically characterized by progressive gait and limb ataxia, dysarthria, dysphagia, oculomotor dysfunction, loss of deep tendon reflexes, pyramidal tract signs, scoliosis, and in some, cardiomyopathy, diabetes mellitus, visual loss and defective hearing.

Disease Ontology: ¹¹ A Friedreich ataxia that has material basis in homozygous or compound heterozygous mutation in FXN on 9q21.1.

Wikipedia: ⁷⁵ Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA or FA) is an autosomal-recessive genetic disease that causes difficulty... more...

Clinical features from OMIM®:

Search NIH Clinical Center for Friedreich Ataxia