Annual Change in Friedreich's Ataxia Evaluated by the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) is Independent of Disease Severity

Background: The objective of the study was to evaluate the sensitivity to change of the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (score, 0-40) in Friedreich's ataxia. Methods: This was a follow-up study in adult patients with genetically confirmed Friedreich's ataxia evaluated at least twice (minimum interval, 6 months). Participants were outpatients at the Center for Neurogenetics of the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris. Results: We included 84 patients; 60% had 3 or more evaluations. The mean score on first assessment was 22.7 +/- 9, and the mean follow-up was 1.84 +/- 1.10 years. The mean increase was 1.36 +/- 2.3 points/year; this variation was not significantly linked to factors known to influence disease severity such as age at onset, disease duration, GAA expansion length, and wheelchair use. Conclusions: In adult Friedreich's ataxia patients the Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia can detect annual changes independently of disease severity. In future therapeutic trials no patient stratification is globally required. (C) 2011 Movement Disorder Society