Following my last article, I will continue to tell you my story. Last time around, I talked about my childhood and mentioned what was “wrong” with me. Today you are going to find out what is “wrong” there. So here we go! For 11 months, I had all kinds of...

Around 90% of patients afflicted with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) eventually show cardiac symptoms. In general, ataxia precedes the beginning of the cardiac symptoms. With most patients, it involves a cardiac disease called left ventricular hypertrophy. Left ventricular hypertrophy is an increase in the thickness of the wall and of the...

Friedreich’s ataxia is a hereditary genetic disease. A gene (a segment of a chromosome) which is defective is its cause. This gene is found on chromosome 9. The FA gene, like all other genes, contains the information for the building of a protein (a sequence of amino acids) which is...

This research project is directed by Dr. Jacques P. Tremblay, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine of Laval University in Quebec and main investigator at the Research Centre of Quebec City (CHUL). Duration of the project is two (2) years and its cost is $240,000. This project is...

By Guy D’Anjou, M.D. FRCPC Neurologist, Sainte-Justine Hospital Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) is one of the most frequent neurodegenerative diseases. Its clinical manifestations appear at a critical stage in the development of an individual and affect his autonomy and quality of life. A number of years ago it was discovered that...