Docosahexaenoic acid in ARSACS: observations in two patients

Spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay is a neurodegenerative condition due to mutations in the SACS gene and without a cure. Attempts to treatments are scarce and limited to symptomatic drugs.

Two siblings harboring biallelic variants in SACS underwent oral supplementation (600 mg/die) with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a well-tolerated dietary supplement currently used in SCA38 patients. We assessed over a 20 month-period clinical progression using disease-specific rating scales.

DHA was safe over a long period and well-tolerated by the two patients; both showed a stabilization of clinical symptoms, rather than the expected deterioration, warranting additional investigations in patients with mutations in SACS.