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CC BY 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2023; 81(10): 934-936
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1775886
Historical Notes

Frontal ataxia: historical aspects and clinical definition

Ataxia frontal: aspectos históricos e definição clínica
Patrícia Áurea Andreucci Martins Bonilha 
1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Hospital de Clínicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Serviço de Neurologia, Unidade de Distúrbios do Movimento, Curitiba PR, Brazil.
,
Beatriz Cassarotti 
1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Hospital de Clínicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Serviço de Neurologia, Unidade de Distúrbios do Movimento, Curitiba PR, Brazil.
,
Thabata Emanuelle Martins Nunes 
1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Hospital de Clínicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Serviço de Neurologia, Unidade de Distúrbios do Movimento, Curitiba PR, Brazil.
,
Hélio Afonso Ghizoni Teive 
1   Universidade Federal do Paraná, Hospital de Clínicas, Departamento de Medicina Interna, Serviço de Neurologia, Unidade de Distúrbios do Movimento, Curitiba PR, Brazil.
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Abstract

Frontal ataxia, originally described by Bruns, is characterized by the presence of signs of frontal lobe dysfunction, such as perseveration, paratonia, frontal release signs, cognitive changes, and urinary difficulty, associated with imbalance, slow gait, broad-based, the presence of postural instability and falls, retropulsion, and bradykinesia in the lower limbs. The goal of the present study is to recall the historical aspects of this condition, to draw attention to the importance of this clinical finding for the differential diagnosis of ataxias and to review the main semiological differences between primary ataxias (frontal, cerebellar, and sensory ataxia).

Resumo

A ataxia frontal, originalmente descrita por Bruns, caracteriza-se pela presença de sinais de disfunção do lobo frontal, como perseveração, paratonia, sinais de liberação frontal, alterações cognitivas e dificuldade urinária, associados a desequilíbrio, marcha lenta, base ampla, presença de instabilidade postural e quedas, retropulsão e bradicinesia em membros inferiores. O objetivo do presente trabalho é recordar os aspectos históricos desta condição, ressaltar a importância deste achado clínico para o diagnóstico diferencial das ataxias e revisar as principais diferenças semiológicas entre as ataxias primárias (ataxia frontal, cerebelar e sensitiva).

Keywords

Ataxia - Spinocerebellar Degenerations - Frontal Lobe - Gait Ataxia - Gait Disorders, Neurologic

Palavras-chave

Ataxia - Degenerações Espinocerebelares - Lobo Frontal - Marcha Atáxica - Transtornos Neurológicos da Marcha

Authors' Contributions

PAAMB: conceptualization, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing; TEMN, BC: conceptualization, data curation; HAGT: conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, supervision, validation, visualization, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing.




Publication History

Received: 28 April 2023

Accepted: 22 July 2023

Article published online:
29 October 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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