Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 14, 2025

A Simple Composite Phenotype Scoring System for Evaluating Mouse Models of Cerebellar Ataxia
Published on: May 21, 2010
Weight loss is correlated with disease severity in Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2: a cross-sectional cohort study
Tania Rodriguez-Graña1,2, Roberto Rodríguez-Labrada1,3, Sergio Santana-Porbén4
1Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, El Llano, Holguin, Cuba.
Background:
Body weight changes occur frequently during advanced stages of Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 2 (SCA2), nevertheless limited information exists on biomarkers of nutritional status of these patients.
Objective.:
To assess changes in surrogate nutritional markers of SCA2 patients; to explore their associations with expanded CAG repeats and disease severity.
Methods:
One-hundred-thirteen SCA2 patients and 50 healthy controls underwent a comprehensive anthropometrical and biochemical assessment protocol of the nutritional status. Neurological and genotype assessments were also performed.
Results:
A decrease in weight, body mass index (BMI), cutaneous skinfold thickness, fat mass, arm muscle circumference, calf circumference and skeletal muscle mass was observed in SCA2 patients compared to the controls. The total/HDL cholesterol ratio was significantly reduced in patients. BMI was correlated with the age at onset. Overall, anthropometric measures were correlated with clinical markers of disease severity and were more evident in severe and moderate cases.
Conclusions:
Using anthropometric measures in the assessment of the nutritional status of SCA2 patients might provide hints about pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie metabolic abnormalities in SCA2. Anthropometric are close related with disease severity and progression, and trigger preventive therapies aimed to ameliorate weight loss and wasting in these patients.
More Related Videos
08:16Utility of Dissociated Intrinsic Hand Muscle Atrophy in the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Published on: March 4, 2014
13:02Sagittal Plane Kinematic Gait Analysis in C57BL/6 Mice Subjected to MOG35-55 Induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Published on: November 4, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Factors Affecting Illness
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness,...
Coefficient of Correlation
If you suspect a linear relationship between x and y, then r can measure how strong the linear relationship is.
What the VALUE of r tells us:
The value of r is always between –1 and +1: –1 ≤ r ≤ 1.
The size of the correlation r indicates the...
Atherosclerosis II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Tests
Peripheral Arterial Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Evaluation