title: Language impairment in cerebellar ataxia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies have suggested that language impairment can be observed in patients with cerebellar pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate language performance in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6).
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed speech and language in 29 SCA6 patients with standardized linquistic tests and correlated this with the severity of ataxia, as quantified by the Scale of Assessment and Rating of Ataxia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individual patients show mild-to-moderate linguistic impairment. Linguistic abnormalities were most distinct on the writing and comprehension subtests. A strong correlation between severity of ataxia and linguistic performance was consistently found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms the occurrence of linguistic impairments in patients with cerebellar degenerative diseases, such as SCA6. The relation between linguistic abnormalities and severity of ataxia provides further evidence for a role of the cerebellum in linguistic processing.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Gaalen
authors.forename: Bert J M
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: de Swart
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oostveen
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Knuijt
authors.forename: Bart P C
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: van de Warrenburg
authors.forename: Berry H P H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Kremer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000235:genetics; D002524:Cerebellar Ataxia / Q000150:complications*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020864:Calcium Channels, N-Type
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; C105656:CACNA1A protein, human; D020864:Calcium Channels, N-Type
keywords: aphasia; cerebellar ataxia; language impairment