Thank you for visiting National Ataxia Foundation, Orange County. Do you know someone who who desires validation, personal support, and information? Contact us to join our support group.
Annual Ataxia Conference 2021 Is Going Virtual!
Join Us for the Virtual Zoom “ Ataxia Unmasked” Conference
This year the 2021 conference will be 100% online, broadening the event’s reach and making it accessible to our global community. No masks required since you will be joining us from the comfort of your own home.
Whether this is your first time attending AAC or your 64th, we welcome you to enjoy the informative sessions and engaging networking opportunities. See old friends, make new friends, and hear from the leading Ataxia experts. Researchers and clinicians will unmask more about Ataxia and the progress being made toward new therapies.
Ways to Donate
Help Us Find A Cure
Events
Get Involved
There are many different ways you can show your support and help us fight to find a cure for ataxia.
- Join Our Support Group – To see upcoming support group dates please visit our Meetings Calendar for 2021.
- Annual Ataxia Conference “Ataxia Unmasked” – Fully online, and safe from the comfort of your own home, join us virtually this year for the Annual Ataxia Conference.
- Walk n’ Roll 2021 – For more information, please click to see the event on the calendar with additional details. For more information about Walk n’ Roll in general, see the Events page.
To view all events in the coming year, please visit our calendar.
If you have any questions please contact us directly and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.
WHAT IS ATAXIA?
The word “ataxia”, comes from the Greek word, “a taxis” meaning “without order or incoordination”. The word ataxia means without coordination. People with ataxia have problems with coordination because parts of the nervous system that control movement and balance are affected. Ataxia may affect the fingers, hands, arms, legs, body, speech, and eye movements. The word ataxia is often used to describe a symptom of incoordination which can be associated with infections, injuries, other diseases, or degenerative changes in the central nervous system. Ataxia is also used to denote a group of specific degenerative diseases of the nervous system called the hereditary and sporadic ataxias which are the National Ataxia Foundation’s primary emphases.
Diagnosis is based on a person’s medical history, family history, and a complete neurological evaluation including an MRI scan of the brain. Various blood tests may be performed to rule out other possible disorders which may present similar symptoms. Genetic blood tests are now available for some types of hereditary ataxia to confirm a diagnosis or as a predictive test to determine if someone has inherited an ataxia gene known to affect other family members.
The hereditary ataxias are genetic, which means they are caused by a defect in a certain gene that is present from the start of a person’s life. All of us have genes that have little mistakes or variations but most of these do not cause disease, they are called mutations. The hereditary ataxias can be divided into those that are dominantly inherited and those that are recessively inherited.
Autosomal recessive inherited diseases also affect males and females equally but it takes a “double dose” of the ataxia gene to result in disease symptoms. Both parents must be carriers of the disease gene and each must pass on the ataxia gene to their child for the double dose that is needed to produce symptoms of the recessive disease. Each child of parents who are carriers of a recessive disease has a 25% chance of inheriting two ataxia genes so will develop the disease, a 50% chance of inheriting just one of the ataxia genes and, therefore, be a carrier and a 25% chance of inheriting no ataxia gene and be completely free of ataxia. Because a single recessive ataxia gene does not cause symptoms, it can be passed on in a family for generations without being recognized. Therefore, there is often no “family history” of ataxia if the disease is inherited as a recessive gene.
Above information about ataxia is courtesy of the National Ataxia Foundation. The NAF has an app! See the below buttons and QR Code to get the app.
Additional Information
Helpful Links
Another proud supporter of Ataxia research is 2016 NASCAR Track/California State Rookie-of-the-Year, and up-and-coming NASCAR driver, Dylan Garner.
The National Ataxia Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of persons affected by ataxia through support, education, and research. For more information visit the National Ataxia Foundation today.
FEATURED VIDEOS
Just Press Play
Angels Weekly: The DeMint family meets Mike Trout
Featured on Angels Weekly, watch as the DeMint Family and the Brothers on a Quest get a very special visit while visiting the Angels’ locker room. This is an experience the DeMint family will never forget.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2016 OC/LA WALK N’ ROLL
The Walk n’ Roll for Ataxia program is the National Ataxia Foundation’s largest national grassroots fundraising event held in recognition of International Ataxia Awareness Day (IAAD). Walk n’ Roll began in 2007, and is held in cities across the U.S.. Walk n’ Roll for Ataxia thanks the support and tireless commitment from walkers, rollers, runners, volunteers, donors, and sponsors.
FOX Sports West, Kings Weekly: Random Acts of Kindness
FOX Sports West and the Los Angeles Kings have featured the DeMint family on Kings Weekly’s Random Acts of Kindness. Please watch the video below to see the incredible video of the Los Angeles Kings giving this family an experience they will never forget.