[Early auditory evoked potentials and clinical course parameters in Friedreich ataxia]

The previously published reports of early auditory evoked potentials in collectives of Freidreich's ataxia show a discrepancy of the results. On the other side clinically and theoretically in this disease there are some interesting aspects. For example there is a decrease of amplitudes in patients suffering from a disturbance of discrimination as far as various sources of noise are concerned. The examined patients show pathological as well as normal results with a high degree of correlation in clinical criteria and the sum of amplitudes. All patients with slowered nerve conduction velocity showed pathological early auditory evoked potentials. More importance can be attributed to the early diagnostics in addition to the previously described differential diagnostic application of the early auditory evoked potentials.