Symptoms such as nausea,vomiting,dizziness and dystaxia were common in this group of patients,and headache and nuchal rigidity were found in 51.6% and 32.3% patients respectively.
These mutations result in degenerative changes in the cerebellum and often in the spinal cord which causes progressive problems with coordination and balance known as ataxia.
Huda says this collaboration has deepened their knowledge not just of SCA-1, but other neurological disorders, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
They typically die around 20 years later, of causes related to breathing or swallowing problems. The disorder is known as spino-cerebellar ataxia type 1, or SCA-1.
Eventually, Huda found a mistake in the data from the family she was studying—everyone had assumed a group of daughters had inherited SCA-1 from their mother.
霍尔:最终,胡达在她研究的家庭数据中发现了一个错误—— everyone had assumed 这群女儿从她们的母亲那里继承了脊髓小脑性共济失调1型。
Between them, they've discovered that the gene responsible for SCA-1 produces a protein called ATAXIN-1 that causes clumps in the brain and leads to that loss of balance.