A multinational clinical trial investigating N-Acetyl-L-Leucine for the treatment of a related inherited cerebellar ataxia, Ataxia-Telangiectasia, began in 2019.IntraBio is also conducting parallel clinical trials with N-Acetyl-L-Leucine for the treatment of Niemann-Pick disease type C and GM2 Gangliosidosis (Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff Disease). Future opportunities to develop N-Acetyl-Leucine include Lewy Body Dementia, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Restless Leg Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, and Migraine. Rehabilitation
Physical therapists can assist patients in maintaining their level of independence through therapeutic exercise programmes. One recent research report demonstrated a gain of 2 SARA points (Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia) from physical therapy. In general, physical therapy emphasises postural balance and gait training for ataxia patients. General conditioning such as range-of-motion exercises and muscle strengthening would also be included in therapeutic exercise programmes. Research showed that spinocerebellar ataxia 2 (SCA2) patients with a mild stage of the disease gained significant improvement in static balance and neurological indices after six months of a physical therapy exercise training program. Occupational therapists may assist patients with incoordination or ataxia issues through the use of adaptive devices. Such devices may include a cane, crutches, walker, or wheelchair for those with impaired gait. Other devices are available to assist with writing, feeding, and self care if hand and arm coordination are impaired. A randomised clinical trial revealed that an intensive rehabilitation program with physical and occupational therapies for patients with degenerative cerebellar diseases can significantly improve functional gains in ataxia, gait, and activities of daily living.
Diagnosis
Classification
A few SCAs remain unspecified and can not be precisely diagnosed, but in the last decade genetic testing has allowed precise identification of dozens of different SCAs  and more tests are being added each year. In 2008, a genetic ataxia blood test developed to test for 12 types of SCA, Friedreichs ataxia, and several others. However, since not every SCA has been genetically identified some SCAs are still diagnosed  by neurological examination, which  may include a physical exam, family history, MRI scanning of the brain and spine, and spinal tap.Many SCAs below fall under the category of polyglutamine diseases, which are caused when a disease-associated protein (i.e., ataxin-1, ataxin-3, etc.) contains a large number of repeats of glutamine residues, termed a polyQ sequence or a "CAG trinucleotide repeat" disease for either the one-letter designation or codon for glutamine respectively. The threshold for symptoms in most forms of SCA is around 35, though for SCA3 it extends beyond 50. Most polyglutamine diseases are dominant due to the interactions of resulting polyQ tail.The first ataxia gene was identified in 1993 and called "Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1" (SCA1); later genes were called SCA2, SCA3, etc. Usually, the "type" number of "SCA" refers to the order in which the gene was found. At this time, there are at least 29 different gene mutations that have been found.The following is a list of some of the many types of Spinocerebellar ataxia. Others include SCA18, SCA20, SCA21, SCA23, SCA26, SCA28, and SCA29.