Brain white matter pathways in Friedreich ataxia

Friedreich ataxia is a rare, inherited, progressive condition whose symptoms include difficulties with movement coordination and speech. Medical imaging technology has shown that Friedreich ataxia is associated with a number of changes in the brain, including abnormalities in the neural connections (“white matter”) between different brain regions. This thesis aimed to characterise the pattern of white matter changes in the brain and how they progress over time. We found that white matter abnormalities are likely to have multiple contributing factors, and that different brain regions may be affected at different timepoints along the disease continuum.