Term "ataxia" means impaired, irregular movement, but is also known as a group of hereditary diseases. Thanks to progress in molecular genetics, new types of ataxia are found daily, together with specification of phenotype-genotype correlation.
With progress in neuroimaging and electrophysiology, ataxia as a symptom might not get the appropriate attention of clinicians. However, clinical features of ataxia can serve as an important clue in differential diagnosis.
This text describes ataxia as a syndrome. We discussed specific signs of ataxia from a syndromological point of view and highlighted the most common causes of ataxia and some of the rare causes imitating ataxia as well.