Ataxia / Atrophy is described as a lack of muscle coordination that may affect a person's speech, eye movements, and ability to swallow, walk, and pick up objects, among other voluntary movements.
Friedreich's ataxia is the most common type of hereditary ataxia (caused by genes you've inherited). It's thought to affect at least 1 in every 50,000 people. Symptoms usually first develop before the age of 25, although it can develop in people much older than this.
Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is a rare type of hereditary ataxia. Symptoms usually begin in early childhood, although they can sometimes develop later.
Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a group of hereditary ataxias that often don't begin until adulthood, affecting people from the age of 25 up to 80, depending on the type of SCA. Occasionally, some types of SCA begin in childhood.
Episodic ataxia is a rare and unusual type of hereditary ataxia where someone experiences episodes of ataxia, but the rest of the time they have no or only mild symptoms.
There are also a number of other types of ataxia that tend to have similar symptoms to those mentioned above. These include:
This is ataxia caused by a dysfunction of the cerebellum - a region of the brain involved in the assimilation of sensory perception, coordination, and motor control. Cerebellar ataxia can cause neurological problems such as:
The extent of symptoms depends on which parts of the cerebellum are damaged, and whether lesions occur on one side (unilateral) or both sides (bilateral).
If the vestibulocerebellum is affected, the person's balance and eye movement control will be affected. The person will typically stand with feet wide apart in order to gain better balance and avoid swaying backwards and forward. Even when the patient's eyes are open, balance may be difficult with feet together. If the spinocerebellum is affected, the patient will have an unusual gait with unequal steps, sideways steps, and stuttering starts and stops. The spinocerebellum regulates body and limb movements.
If the cerebrocerebellum is affected, the person will have problems with voluntary, planned movements. The head, eyes, limbs, and torso may tremble as voluntary moves are carried out. Speech may be slurred, with variations in rhythm and loudness.
We can treat Cerebral & Cerebellar Ataxia / Atrophy with Ayurvedic medicines and treatment. Generally describes this management as Samana Chikitsa and Shodhana Chikitsa. Samana chikitsa includes management with internal medications and external applications and shodhana chikitsa includes Ayurvedic Panchakarma Treatments.
Additional Treatment
Although ataxia is generally not curable but treatable with Ayurveda, a great deal can be done to ease symptoms and improve the quality of life of the patient. Treatment for coordination and balance problems usually involves the use of adaptive devices that help the patient attain as much independence as possible.
Symptoms such as tremor, stiffness, spasticity, sleep disorders, muscle weakness, depression (or frustration, sadness, and anger) can be addressed with targeted medications, treatments, different therapies and counseling.