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OBJECTIVE: To provide a systematic evaluation of the broad clinical variability in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA), a multisystem disorder presenting mainly with afferent ataxia but also a complex phenotype of nonataxia symptoms. METHODS: From the large database of the European Friedreich's Ataxia Consortium for Translational Studies, 650 patients with genetically confirmed FRDA were included. Detailed data of medical history documentation, questionnaires, and reports on clinical features were analyzed to provide in-depth description of the clinical profile and frequency rates of phenotypical features with a focus on differences between typical-onset and late-onset FRDA. Logistic regression modeling was used to identify predictors for the presence of the most common clinical features. RESULTS: The most frequent clinical features beyond afferent ataxia were abnormal eye movements (90.5%), scoliosis (73.5%), deformities of the feet (58.8%), urinary dysfunction (42.8%), cardiomyopathy and cardiac hypertrophy (40.3%), followed by decreased visual acuity (36.8%); less frequent features were, among others, depression (14.1%) and diabetes (7.1%). Most of these features were more common in the typical-onset group compared to the late-onset group. Logistic regression models for the presence of these symptoms demonstrated the predictive value of GAA repeat length on the shorter allele and age at onset, but also severity of ataxia signs, sex, and presence of neonatal problems. CONCLUSIONS: This joint European effort demonstrates the multisystem nature of this neurodegenerative disease encompassing most the central nervous, neuromuscular, cardiologic, and sensory systems. A distinct and deeper knowledge of this rare and chronic disease is highly relevant for clinical practice and designs of clinical trials., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Summary Background Friedreich's ataxia is a rare autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder. Here we report cross-sectional baseline data to establish the biological and clinical characteristics for a prospective, international, European Friedreich's ataxia database registry. Methods Within the European Friedreich's Ataxia Consortium for Translational Studies (EFACTS) framework, we assessed a cohort of patients with genetically confirmed Friedreich's ataxia. The primary outcome measure was the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and secondary outcome measures were the Inventory of Non-Ataxia Signs (INAS), the performance-based coordination test Spinocerebellar Ataxia Functional Index (SCAFI), the neurocognitive phonemic verbal fluency test, and two quality-of-life measures: the activities of daily living (ADL) part of the Friedreich's Ataxia Rating Scale and EQ-5D. The Friedreich's ataxia cohort was subdivided into three groups: early disease onset (≤14 years), intermediate onset (15–24 years), and late onset (≥25 years), which were compared for clinical characteristics and outcome measures. We used linear regression analysis to estimate the annual decline of clinical outcome measures based on disease duration. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02069509. Findings We enrolled 592 patients with genetically confirmed Friedreich's ataxia between Sept 15, 2010, and April 30, 2013, at 11 sites in seven European countries. Age of disease onset was inversely correlated with the number of GAA repeats in the frataxin ( FXN ) gene: every 100 GAA repeats on the smaller repeat allele was associated with a 2·3 year (SE 0·2) earlier onset. Regression analyses showed significant estimated annual worsening of SARA (regression coefficient 0·86 points [SE 0·05], INAS (0·14 points [0·01]), SCAFI Z scores (−0·09 [0·01]), verbal fluency (−0·34 words [0·07]), and ADL (0·64 points [0·04]) during the first 25 years of disease; the regression slope for health-related quality-of-life state from EQ-5D was not significant (−0·33 points [0·18]). For SARA, the predicted annual rate of worsening was significantly higher in early-onset patients (n=354; 1·04 points [0·13]) and intermediate-onset patients (n=137; 1·17 points [0·22]) than in late-onset patients (n=100; 0·56 points [0·10]). Interpretation The results of this cross-sectional baseline analysis of the EFACTS cohort suggest that earlier disease onset is associated with larger numbers of GAA repeats and more rapid disease progression. The differential estimated progression of ataxia symptoms related to age of onset have implications for the design of clinical trials in Friedreich's ataxia, for which SARA might be the most suitable measure to monitor disease progression. Funding European Commission.

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is the most frequent recessive ataxia in the Western world. Dysarthria is a cardinal feature of FRDA, often leading to severe impairments in daily functioning, but its exact characteristics are only poorly understood so far. We performed a comprehensive evaluation of dysarthria severity and the profile of speech motor deficits in 20 patients with a genetic diagnosis of FRDA based on a carefully selected battery of speaking tasks and two widely used paraspeech tasks, i.e., oral diadochokinesis and sustained vowel productions. Perceptual ratings of the speech samples identified respiration, voice quality, voice instability, articulation, and tempo as the most affected speech dimensions. Whereas vocal instability predicted ataxia severity, tempo turned out as a significant correlate of disease duration. Furthermore, articulation predicted the overall intelligibility score as determined by a systematic speech pathology assessment tool. In contrast, neurologists' ratings of intelligibility--a component of the 'Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia'--were found to be related to perceived speech tempo. Obviously, clinicians are more sensitive to slowness of speech than to any other feature of spoken language during dysarthria evaluation. Our results suggest that different components of speech production and trunk/limb motor functions are differentially susceptible to FRDA pathology. Furthermore, evidence emerged that paraspeech tasks do not allow for an adequate scaling of speech deficits in FRDA.