Ataxia-telangiectasia

What it is

A rare autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia due to a DNA repair defect characterized by progressive neurological impairment with cerebellar syndrome, oculocutaneous telangiectasia, defects in B and T cell-mediated immunity, and increased susceptibility to malignancies (mainly lymphoid neoplasms). High sensitivity to ionizing radiation limits patient treatments.

Key facts

Prevalence

1-9 / 1 000 000 (Europe)

Age of onset

Childhood, Infancy

Inheritance

Autosomal recessive

Classified as

Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Signs and symptoms

These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.

Gene

ICD-10 codes

ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references