Neuroimaging biomarkers in Friedreich’s ataxia

Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) is a rare, autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease whose natural history and clinical characterization have made significant progress in recent decades. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of sensitive, objective biomarkers that both reliably reflect disease progression and are practicable for clinical studies. The TRACK-FA study, the largest multicenter, multimodal neuroimaging study in FA to date, is now making a decisive contribution. It shows that structural and functional imaging markers not only detect disease-relevant changes, but also correlate with clinical scales. This opens up new avenues for more precise diagnostics, the development of therapies and the shortening of study durations.