Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3

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Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3

ORPHA:98757Disease

Also called Azorean disease of the nervous system · MJD · Machado disease · Machado-Joseph disease · Nigro-spino-dentatal degeneration with nuclear ophthalmoplegia · SCA3

What it is

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), also known as Machado-Joseph disease, is the most common subtype of type 1 autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia (ADCA type 1), a neurodegenerative disorder, and is characterized by ataxia, external progressive ophthalmoplegia, and other neurological manifestations.

Key facts

Prevalence
1-9 / 100 000
Age of onset
Adult, Childhood
Inheritance
Autosomal dominant
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.

Genes reported in subtypes

ATXN3

Orphanet records this gene on 3 more specific entries under this disorder, not on this entry itself:

A well-studied disease is usually split into subtypes, and the gene is curated on whichever one the evidence belongs to. Open a subtype to see which gene goes with it.

ICD-10 codes

G11.8filed under a broader ICD-10 category — shared with 38 other rare diseases

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

GARD 6801MESH D017827MONDO 0007182OMIM 109150UMLS C0024408

Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.

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