The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of
tandospirone on
ataxia in various types of
spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD). Fifteen milligram per day of
tandospirone was administered to 39 patients with SCD (
spinocerebellar atrophy (SCA) 1, five patients; SCA2, six patients;
Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), 14 patient; SCA6, five patients;
multiple system atrophy-cerebellar type (MSA-C), seven patients; and
multiple system atrophy-Parkinson type (MSA-P), two patients). All patients were assessed before and 4 weeks after administration of the
drug using the international cooperative
ataxia rating scale total score (ARS), total length traveled (TLT) of body stabilometry, and a self-rating depression scale. Statistically, ARS showed a significant difference in MJD (p = 0.005) and SCA6 (p = 0.043). TLT also showed a significant difference in MJD (p = 0.002) and SCA6 (p = 0.043). Eight of 39 patients (
SCA1, 1/5; SCA2, 0/6; MJD, 4/14; SCA6, 3/5; MSA-C, 0/7; and MSA-P, 0/2) showed more than a five point reduction in ARS, and 13 of 39 patients (
SCA1, 0/5; SCA2, 1/6; MJD, 8/14; SCA6, 4/5; MSA-C, 0/7; and MSA-P, 0/2) showed a reduction of TLT. Our data indicate that the effects of
tandospirone on
ataxia are different between types of SCD. Therefore,
tandospirone is useful for
cerebellar ataxia in patients with MJD and SCA6.