Scientists explain why Friedreich’s ataxia primarily affects Eurasians
Hyderabad: Researchers have shed new light on why Friedreich’s ataxia, or FRDA, has for long been found almost exclusively in people of European, North African, West Asian and South Asian descent.
FRDA is a genetic disorder that progressively damages the nerves and the heart. There is currently no cure.
Patients typically begin showing symptoms between ages 5 and 15. Early signs include loss of coordination and unsteady gait. Over time, speech slows and slurs, swallowing becomes difficult, and hearing and vision deteriorate. Patients also experience fatigue, loss of sensation that spreads from the arms and legs to the trunk, and curvature of the spine. Most eventually die relatively young from heart disease.
According to Dr. Ashwin Dalal, a medical geneticist at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, the institute diagnoses about one case of FRDA every month on average. “And almost all of these individuals come from consanguineous marriages,” he said.
Scientists say the pattern reflects a combination of genetic carrier frequency in Eurasian populations and the role of consanguinity, or marriage between relatives, which increases the chance that two carriers of the same recessive gene will have an affected child.
The new findings help explain the geographic clustering of FRDA and could guide targeted screening and genetic counseling in high-risk communities.
While research into treatments continues, experts stress that awareness and early diagnosis remain key for managing the disease.
