Ataxia

Patients seen in the ataxia clinic can volunteer to be subjects in clinical research projects that include functional imaging in connection with studies of sleep disorders and heart function. These studies include patients with the diagnoses of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, sporadic olivopontocerebellar atrophy, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, and Alzheimer's disease. Studies of sleep disorders include rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome, and are carried out in conjunction with a positron emission tomography (PET) study of neurotransmitters in the brain. Studies of myocardial function involve imaging with PET of the neurotransmitters in the heart along with studies of the neurotransmitters in the brain. Other faculty members involved in these studies include Larry Junck, M.D., neurologist, Robert A. Koeppe, Ph.D., physicist, Roderick Little, Ph.D., biostatistician, Ronald Chervin, M.D., neurologist, Flavia Consens, M.D., neurologist, Bruno Giordani, Ph.D., neuropsychologist, and Carol Persad, Ph.D., neuropsychologist.