Other Neurodegenerative Diseases and Disorders

• Friedreich ataxia: An inherited disease that causes damage to the spinal cord and nerves. Signs and symptoms are seen as early as 5 years of age. The person can experience ataxia, difficulty walking, muscle weakness, scoliosis, heart palpitations, involuntary eye movements, and speech issues. There is no cure for this disease. Treatments may include assistive devices (e.g., wheelchair), braces, physical therapy, and surgery.
• Frontotemporal dementia (also called Pick disease): A rare condition that can start by age 20. Pick bodies and cells (abnormal proteins) are found in the damaged neurons. Behavior changes, speech difficulty, and problems thinking occur and slowly get worse. There is no specific treatment, but medications may be used to help with mood swings.
• Lewy body disease (also called dementia with Lewy bodies): Lewy bodies (abnormal structures) build up in the brain. Signs and symptoms include decreased alertness, hallucinations, muscle stiffness, confusion, and loss of memory. This disease is one of the more common causes of dementia. There is no cure; treatments help with symptoms.
• Tay-Sachs disease: An inherited disease that progressively destroys the neurons in the brain and spinal cord. With the most common form, signs and symptoms are seen in infancy. The infant’s motor skills (e.g., sitting, crawling, and rolling) are affected. As the disease progresses, the child can experience seizures, vision and hearing loss, intellectual disability, and paralysis.
• Vascular dementia: The second most common cause of dementia for people over age 65. This disease is caused by small strokes over time. Signs and symptoms include difficulty performing tasks, language issues, misplacing items, sleep pattern changes, hallucinations, poor judgment, and memory issues. The goal is to control symptoms because there is no treatment.