Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42115447›Full record

SynthesisCerebellum (London, England)2026

Quantitative Ocular Motor / Vestibular Assessment in Patients with Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 (SCA3, Machado Joseph Disease) - Systematic Review of the Literature.

Ines Melzer, David J Szmulewicz, Alexander Andrea Tarnutzer

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Cerebellum (London, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Ines MelzerFaculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
David J SzmulewiczBalance Disorders and Ataxia Service, Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, East Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia.
Alexander Andrea TarnutzerFaculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. alexander.tarnutzer@access.uzh.ch.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3 or Machado-Joseph disease) is the second most common autosomal-dominant hereditary ataxia and often presents with ocular motor and vestibular impairment. The value of ocular motor testing for early disease detection, monitoring disease progression and as a potential treatment biomarker has been acknowledged in several studies. This systematic review aims to summarise the current evidence supporting quantitative eye movement testing in SCA3. Studies reporting on quantitative ocular motor and/or vestibular measurements in SCA3 were searched for in MEDLINE and Embase. Thirty studies reporting on 432 SCA3 patients (including 64 pre-symptomatic carriers) were included. Information on various ocular motor parameters were extracted and correlations with other parameters (including clinical scales, imaging, and genetic testing) were assessed. Ocular motor abnormalities observed comprised (horizontal) pursuit eye-movement (PEM) gain reduction (14/19 patients), saccadic intrusions (principally square-wave jerks (SWJ, 29/45)), gaze-evoked nystagmus (GEN, 65/82), and rebound nystagmus (8/10). Additionally, saccades to target displayed increased latency (13/29), reduced peak velocity (16/49) and dysmetria (33/49). Vestibular deficits measured included vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain-reductions during quantitative head-impulse testing (qHIT, 117/133) and abnormal responses during caloric irrigation (7/9), impaired visually-enhanced VOR-responses (5/6), and impaired cervical (19/66) and ocular (10/14) vestibular-evoked myogenic-potential testing. In summary, impaired VOR-gains (qHIT), GEN, horizontal PEM-gain decreases, dysmetric saccades, and SWJ were most frequently reported and therefore seem most suitable as potential disease markers. The quantitative ocular motor/vestibular assessment may facilitate early diagnosis, distinction of disease stages and also potentially allow monitoring of disease progression and treatment response.

Indexed as

Eye MovementsMachado-Joseph DiseaseOcular Motility DisordersHumansReflex, Vestibulo-OcularVestibular Function TestsEye movementsHereditary ataxiaOculographyQuantitative analysisVestibular

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.