Is ataxia telangiectasia a cancer?

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) is a pleiotropic inherited disease characterized by neurodegeneration, cancer, immunodeficiencies, radiation sensitivity, and genetic instability. Although A-T homozygotes are rare, the A-T gene may play a role in sporadic breast cancer and leukemia.

What causes ataxia telangiectasia?

Ataxia telangiectasia is caused by mutations in a gene on chromosome 11 known as the ATM gene, which is involved in cell cycle control.

What type of disorder is ataxia telangiectasia?

Ataxia-telangiectasia is a rare inherited disorder that affects the nervous system, immune system, and other body systems. This disorder is characterized by progressive difficulty with coordinating movements (ataxia) beginning in early childhood, usually before age 5.

What is the life expectancy of someone with ataxia telangiectasia?

Ataxia telangiectasia is a rare, multiorgan neurodegenerative disorder with enhanced vulnerability to cancer and infection. Median survival in two large cohorts of patients with this disease, one prospective and one retrospective, is 25 and 19 years, with a wide range.

How is ataxia telangiectasia treated?

Although no specific treatment is available, several features of ataxia-telangiectasia are accessible to active therapy. This applies especially to infections. Correction of ATM mutations may hold promise for the future.

Who gets ataxia telangiectasia?

Ataxia telangiectasia usually begins during infancy (between one and three years of age) and often affects more than one child in a family. Males and females may be affected in equal numbers. In the United States, the prevalence is approximately one in 40,000-100,000 live births.

Does ataxia cause fatigue?

Fatigue. Many people with neurological conditions such as ataxia report feeling extremely tired and lethargic (lacking in energy). It’s thought this is partly caused by disturbed sleep and the physical efforts of having to cope with the loss of co-ordination.

What are the different types of ataxia?

There are three clinical types of ataxia: sensory (proprioceptive), vestibular, and cerebellar. All three types produce changes in limb coordination, but vestibular and cerebellar ataxia also produce changes in head and neck movement.

What does it mean to have ataxia?

Ataxia is a movement disorder caused by problems in the brain. When you have ataxia, you have trouble moving parts of your body the way you want. Or the muscles in your arms and legs might move when you don’t want them to. The word ataxia actually means “without coordination.”

What is the mild form of ataxia is known as?

Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Ataxia can be limited to one side of the body, which is referred to as hemiataxia. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. Dystaxia is a mild degree of ataxia.

What is the definition of ataxia?

Definition of ataxia. : an inability to coordinate voluntary muscular movements that is symptomatic of some central nervous system disorders and injuries and not due to muscle weakness.