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Scientific NewsIn this section, you will find the most recent FA research publications, many of which are funded by FARA, as well as information on upcoming conferences and symposiums. You can search for articles by date using the archive box in the right hand column. To locate FARA Funded or Supported Research, click the hyperlink in the right hand column. You may also search for specific content using key words or phrases in the search button at the top right of your screen. Please be sure to visit other key research sections of our website for information on FARA’s Grant Program and the Treatment Pipeline.
Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) affects very young persons. In a large series, the mean ages of onset and death were 11 and 38 years, respectively. The clinical spectrum of FRDA has expanded after genetic confirmation of the mutation became a routine laboratory test. The main cause of death in juvenile-onset FRDA is cardiomyopathy whereas patients with late-onset are more likely to succumb to neurological disability or an intercurrent illness.
Decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) demonstrated by diffusion tensor MR imaging (DTI) in areas of white matter (WM) damage is generally associated with increase of radial diffusivity, while axial diffusivity is reported to be decreased, unchanged, or increased. Aiming to better define the type of axial diffusivity change occurring in a typical human neurodegenerative disease, we investigated axial and radial diffusivity in Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) which is characterized by selective neuronal loss of the dentate nuclei and atrophy and decreased FA of the superior cerebellar peduncles (SCPs).
Expansion of a GAA · TTC repeat in the first intron of the frataxin (FXN) gene causes an mRNA deficit that results in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA). The region flanking the repeat on FRDA alleles is associated with more extensive DNA methylation than is seen on normal alleles and histone modifications typical of repressed genes. However, whether these changes are responsible for the mRNA deficit is controversial.
Repeat expansion affects both transcription initiation and elongation in friedreich ataxia cells
Cardiac failure is the most prevalent cause of death at higher age, and is commonly associated with impaired energy homeostasis in the heart. Mitochondrial metabolism appears critical to sustain cardiac function to counteract aging. In this study, we generated mice transgenically over-expressing the mitochondrial protein frataxin, which promotes mitochondrial energy conversion by controlling iron-sulfur-cluster biogenesis and hereby mitochondrial electron flux.
Activation of mitochondrial energy metabolism protects against cardiac failure
Friedreich's ataxia (FRA) is an autosomal recessive disease of the central nervous system that is associated with familial cardiomyopathy. Cardiac involvement is seen in more than 90% of the patients and is the most common cause of death in these patients. We present a case series and discuss the indications for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation in FRA with review of the literature.
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