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Published on: June 5, 2019
Spinocerebellar ataxias type 1, 2 and 3: a study of heart rate variability
C Pradhan1, B S Yashavantha, P K Pal
1Department of Neurology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
Objective:
To detect cardiac autonomic dysfunction, using analysis of heart rate variability in genetically defined spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA).
Materials And Methods:
Consecutive RR intervals were analyzed for time- and frequency-domain parameters in 22 genotypically proven SCA patients (SCA1 = 11, SCA2 = 6 and SCA3 = 5) and compared with that of age- and gender-matched controls.
Results:
Reduction in the standard deviation of RR interval (RR_SD) was seen in 72.7% of SCA patients. There was a reduction in both the parasympathetic and sympathetic parameters in SCA without any change in the ratio of low- to high-frequency power. In SCA1, there was a significant negative correlation between RR_SD and duration of illness but not with the CAG repeat lengths of the abnormal allele. Small sample size of SCA2 and SCA3 precluded similar comparison.
Conclusions:
Cardiac autonomic dysfunction, predominantly parasympathetic, was seen in SCA, and the severity correlated with the duration of illness in SCA1.
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