What are the symptoms of ataxia?

Ataxia is a coordination disorder that causes uncoordinated limb movements. Ataxia is relatively common in clinical practice and has a great impact on people's lives. Generally speaking, the symptoms of ataxia are multifaceted. In addition to limb disorders, speech disorders are also one of them.

1. Speech disorders, speaking is often slow, monotonous and vague, with unclear pronunciation, uneven volume, or intermittent, with stuttering, explosive or poetic language.

2. Unsteady walking, unsteady gait, inflexible movements, legs spread wide when walking, unable to walk in a straight line, swaying left and right, and moving diagonally in a "Z" shape. Unsteady standing, leaning forward or swaying from side to side. When standing on tiptoes or heels, the instability is more prominent and it is easy to fall.

3. Some ataxia may also cause optic atrophy and retinal pigmentation, ptosis, some have intellectual disabilities such as dementia, or epileptic clonus, paranoid tendencies; some have heart disease, heart enlargement, conduction block or paroxysmal tachycardia; some have occasional lightning-like pain or numbness in the limbs, but often have no objective superficial sensory disorders; some are combined with hypothermia, obesity, diabetes, cryptorchidism, sexual function and rectal bladder sphincter dysfunction, etc.

4. Dysgraphia is a representative symptom of upper limb ataxia, and often occurs after symptoms of lower limb ataxia as the disease progresses. The first manifestation is the change of handwriting. The lines of words are irregular and crooked, the spacing between lines is uneven, and the words become larger and larger. In some cases, the pen tip can be seen to pierce the paper, and in severe cases, it is impossible to write.

5. Bone changes are common signs of this disease, including arched feet and spinal curvature. The spine may show scoliosis or kyphosis. A few patients may develop claw hands and may also have deformities such as occult spina bifida.