What is spinocerebellar degeneration?
A human brain has about 14 billion nerve cells, supported by more then ten times that number of cells. The nerve cells are classified into many groups. Some function when you are exercising and others work when you are observing, hearing, or feeling something. As long as a person is alive, many groups of nerve cells are working.
The nerve cells inside the cerebellum in the brain, the brain stem, and the spinal cord are required for the body to maintain balance reflexively, and to achieve quich and smooth movements. Spinocerebellar degeneration is a disease in wich those nerve cells gradually change and then finally disappear. We haven't yet discovered why they behave like that. According to nationwide statistics there are just over 1000 patients suffering from the disease in Japan. However, it is said that the real number of patients is two or three times that figure.
The most frequent symptom of the disease at the early stage is when you feel your body is swaying. At first you may think it's because you are tired or have anemia. But it gradually develops to the stage where you can't walk straight. People may start asking if you're drunk. Other early symptoms can include: dimmed vision, double vision, or things appearing to shake; difficulty in speaking because you can't get your tongue around certain sounds; difficulty urinating and the sensation of residual urine even after you've been to the toilet; feeling faint when you stand up because your blood pressure suddenly drops; etc.
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