PH Docs: Ataxia - Where to from here
Discussion
Hola!
Figured I'd seek the wisdom of PH as to cut a long story short, my phone isn't working at the moment so I can't make enquiries myself.
But anyway, to give a back story to this...My father has a rare type of ataxia aka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellar_ataxia - It developed in the early 90's when he was in his 30's, it's gradually over the course of the past 2 decades became worse & worse to the extent he's wheelchair bound & unable to communicate properly.
His brother who died a few years again also had the condition, the history of when it came about is unknown but ever since I've known him, he's been in a wheelchair (Early 90's). He had 2 kids, both sons in there early/mid 20's now, one of them developed the same form of ataxia a few years ago so again, wheelchair bound now & speech is gradually becoming worse.
I'm now 22 & being the eldest, main bread-winner in the house & on the verge of getting into a relationship that has real potential for marriage, I need to now know if it could be me.
Figured I'd seek the wisdom of PH as to cut a long story short, my phone isn't working at the moment so I can't make enquiries myself.
But anyway, to give a back story to this...My father has a rare type of ataxia aka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellar_ataxia - It developed in the early 90's when he was in his 30's, it's gradually over the course of the past 2 decades became worse & worse to the extent he's wheelchair bound & unable to communicate properly.
His brother who died a few years again also had the condition, the history of when it came about is unknown but ever since I've known him, he's been in a wheelchair (Early 90's). He had 2 kids, both sons in there early/mid 20's now, one of them developed the same form of ataxia a few years ago so again, wheelchair bound now & speech is gradually becoming worse.
I'm now 22 & being the eldest, main bread-winner in the house & on the verge of getting into a relationship that has real potential for marriage, I need to now know if it could be me.
Random Ataxia website said:
How is Ataxia Diagnosed?
Diagnosis is based on a person's medical history, family history, and a complete neurological evaluation including an MRI scan of the brain. Various blood tests may be performed to rule out other possible disorders which may present similar symptoms. Genetic blood tests are now available for some types of hereditary ataxia to confirm a diagnosis or as a predictive test to determine if someone has inherited an ataxia gene known to affect other family members.
So therefore, my question is where & how should I best approach getting a diagnosis for this condition? Is it a case of just arranging something at my local hospital or maybe something more specific? Any thoughts would be appreciated, gracias! Diagnosis is based on a person's medical history, family history, and a complete neurological evaluation including an MRI scan of the brain. Various blood tests may be performed to rule out other possible disorders which may present similar symptoms. Genetic blood tests are now available for some types of hereditary ataxia to confirm a diagnosis or as a predictive test to determine if someone has inherited an ataxia gene known to affect other family members.
Edited by ironictwist on Thursday 2nd April 12:44
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