Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) is a severe neurodegenerative disease caused by GAA repeat expansion within the first intron of the frataxin gene. It has been suggested that the repeat is responsible for the disease severity due to impaired transcription thereby reducing expression of the protein. However, genotype-phenotype correlation is imperfect, and the influence of other gene regions of the frataxin gene is unknown.

Read More: Genetic Variations Creating MicroRNA Target Sites in the FXN 3′-UTR Affect Frataxin Expression in Friedreich Ataxia