Introduction: Sensory impairment in Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is generally accepted as being due to a ganglionopathy. The degree of contribution from axonal pathology remains a matter of debate. Nerve ultrasound may be able to differentiate these processes.
Methods: The ultrasound cross-sectional area of median, ulnar, tibial, and sural nerves of 8 patients with FRDA was compared with 8 age- and gender-matched healthy controls and with reference values in our population.
Results: The nerves of the patients with FRDA were significantly larger than those of healthy controls at all upper limb sites (P < 0.05) but not significantly different in the lower limbs.
Discussion: Our findings add additional weight to the theory that dorsal root ganglionopathy is not the sole cause of peripheral sensory loss in FRDA. Peripheral neuropathic processes are also likely to play a role. Muscle Nerve 57: 852-856, 2018.
Keywords: Friedreich ataxia; cross-sectional area; nerve ultrasound; peripheral nerves; sensory neuropathy.
© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.