The association between diplopia and clinical phenotypes in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

Cohort studyBMC neurology· Apr 2026

Mei Zheng, Mao-Lin Cui, Wei Lin … Shi-Rui Gan

Neuro-ophthalmologyCohort studyPrognosisQ2IF 2.6

Visual impairment is linked to higher odds of diplopia in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

Mei Zheng … Shi-Rui Gan

BMC neurology · Apr 2026 · Q2 in General Medicine

Background

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is a rare monogenic hereditary neurodegenerative disease.

Purpose

Our objective is to investigate the association between diplopia and the clinical phenotype of SCA3.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 182 patients with SCA3.

n = 182 patients

Results

poor vision roughly doubles the odds of seeing double

45.6%

Diplopia

54.4%

No diplopia

More results

In this study, the frequency of diplopia among subjects was 45.6%, while 54.4% of subjects did not experience diplopia.

The diplopia group exhibited significantly higher ICARS scores (p = 0.002) .

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

Diplopia is common in patients with SCA3. Visual impairment has been identified as a risk factor for developing diplopia.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Additionally, diplopia is associated with the severity of ataxia, necessitating intensive focus and interventions in the care of SCA3 patients.