Spinocerebellar ataxia type 31 (SCA31) is known as a late-onset, relatively pure cerebellar form of ataxia, but a longitudinal prospective study on the natural history of SCA31 has not been done yet. In this prospective cohort study, we enrolled 44 patients (mean ± standard deviation 73.6 ± 8.5 years) with genetically confirmed SCA31 from 10 ataxia referral centers in the Nagano area, Japan. Patients were evaluated every year for 4 years using the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and the Barthel Index (BI). Of the 176 follow-up visits (91.5%), 161 were completed in this study. Five patients (11.4%) died during the follow-up period, and two patients (4.5%) were lost to follow-up. The annual progression of the SARA score was 0.8 ± 0.1 points/year and that of the BI was -2.3 ± 0.4 points/year (mean ± standard error). Shorter disease duration at baseline was associated with faster progression of the SARA score. Our study indicated the averaged clinical course of SCA31 as follows: the patients develop ataxic symptoms at 58.5 ± 10.3 years, become wheelchair bound at 79.4 ± 1.7 years, and died at 88.5 ± 0.7 years. Our prospective dataset provides important information for clinical trials of forthcoming disease-modifying therapies for cerebellar ataxia. It also represents a useful resource for SCA31 patients and their family members in genetic counseling sessions.
Keywords: Barthel index; Natural history; Scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA); Spinocerebellar ataxia type 31 (SCA31).