DEFINING ATAXIA
Ataxia is a symptom, not a specific disease or diagnosis. Ataxia
means poor coordination of movement. The term ataxia is most
often used to describe walking that is uncoordinated and unsteady.
Ataxia can affect coordination of fingers, hands, arms, speech
(dysarthria) and eye movements (nystagmus). There are many
causes of ataxia.
Most often, ataxia results from damage to or shrinkage (atrophy)
of the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls coordination
of movement (See Figure 1). There are two main categories of
ataxia, acquired and hereditary: