Ataxia (from Greek ataxiā, meaning failure to put in order) is unsteady and clumsy motion of the limbs or trunk due to a failure of the gross coordination of muscle movements.

Ataxia often occurs when parts of the nervous system that control movement are damaged. People with ataxia experience a failure of muscle control in their arms and legs, resulting in a lack of balance and coordination or a disturbance of gait. While the term ataxia is primarily used to describe this set of symptoms, it is sometimes also used to refer to a family of disorders. It is not, however, a specific diagnosis.

Most disorders that result in ataxia cause cells in the part of the brain called the cerebellum to degenerate, or atrophy. Sometimes the spine is also affected. The phrases cerebellar degeneration and spinocerebellar degeneration are used to describe changes that have taken place in a person’s nervous system; neither term constitutes a specific diagnosis. Cerebellar and spinocerebellar degeneration have many different causes. The age of onset of the resulting ataxia varies depending on the underlying cause of the degeneration.

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National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases

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Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:05:00 -0400
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CNN.com - Health

Police: Hospital worker swiped shots, spread hep C
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A former hospital employee may have exposed hundreds or thousands of surgical patients to hepatitis C when she replaced clean needles filled with the powerful painkiller fentanyl with her own dirty needles filled with saline solution.
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We know your summer vacation time is precious: You want to land where you can truly relax, breathe fresh air, get in some exercise and eat well -- without breaking the bank. That's why we teamed up with a panel of travel and health experts to help us find the healthiest of the nation's most popular beach and lake towns.

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