Bill Nye launches a new web series with the National Ataxia Foundation to raise awareness of the rare condition.Nye shares personal ties: multiple family members live with Spinocerebellar ataxia type-27B.Nye shares how he promotes brain health through biking, puzzles and staying active.<\/p>\n
Yesterday was International Ataxia Awareness Day, and to spread awareness on the genetic nervous system condition, we chatted with everyone\u2019s favorite science communicator. Bill Nye, best known for his \u201890s show Bill Nye the Science Guy, is bringing back the nostalgic format with a new web series all about ataxia<\/a> in partnership with National Ataxia Foundation and Biogen.\n<\/p>\n \u201cAtaxia is near and dear to me because my family has a form of it,\u201d Nye tells EatingWell. \u201cA taxi cab is how you get around, so \u2018ataxia\u2019 means you can’t get around very well.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Find out more about this rare genetic condition, how it has impacted Nye\u2019s life and how he prioritizes his own brain health, from exercise to hobbies he loves.\n<\/p>\n What Is Ataxia? The Disease Bill Nye \u201cGrew Up With\u201d <\/p>\n According to the National Ataxia Foundation, ataxia is a degenerative disease of the nervous system. Nye\u2019s grandmother, father, siblings and other family members have lived with a form of ataxia called Spinocerebellar ataxia type-27B (SCA27B). This and other forms of ataxia (including its most common hereditary form, Friedreich ataxia) cause chronic symptoms that worsen over time, like lack of coordination, slurred speech, difficulty walking and more.\n<\/p>\n Because ataxia is a rare condition, it is commonly overlooked, making awareness all the more important. Nye shares that his father struggled in the workplace while living with ataxia.\n<\/p>\n \u201cMy father would lose his balance all the time. As he got older, his handwriting degraded and he had trouble speaking,\u201d Nye shared. \u201cPeople thought my father was drunk when he was walking around, so he had [to get] a letter from a physician saying he’s not drunk, he has ataxia. And he carried a cane later in life\u2014which actually may have made walking more difficult, but it was a signal to people that he had this disability.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Courtesy Photo<\/p>\n Ataxia is commonly overlooked, and many may not realize they have it until their young adulthood. Nye knows it well, as he \u201cgrew up\u201d with the disease by observing and caring for his family.\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou might lose your balance a little bit as a teenager, then as a young adult out in the workforce, you may have difficulty walking, you may find yourself reaching for words and you can’t speak clearly, and this could be Friedrich ataxia in its slow progression,\u201d the science guy explains. \u201cSlow progression has led to difficulty in diagnosis. People go see a specialist for inner ear, thinking they’re losing their balance because they have inner ear problems, or they think there’s some muscle problem\u2026but it’s actually [ataxia].\n<\/p>\n \u201cAtaxia is a serious problem, but modern discoveries are being made and modern treatments are being developed that could help people with symptoms,\u201d continues Nye.\n<\/p>\n Bill Nye\u2019s Brain-Healthy Habits <\/p>\n So how is Nye supporting his own brain health? By incorporating brain-healthy habits into his daily routine.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI do crossword puzzles,\u201d he shares. \u201cAnd as an engineer, I\u2019m always designing and making little things.\u201d He gives model trains as an example. These may seem like just-for-fun hobbies, but research has shown the positive improvement that crossword puzzles can have on the brain, especially for those with mild cognitive impairments.\n<\/p>\n Another thing Nye is especially fond of? Exercise, especially biking.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a longtime bicyclist,\u201d he tells us. \u201cMy goal is to ride at least three times a week, but I’ve been traveling this week, so it’s been difficult. I like it. I am not an indoor cyclist, I’m not a Pelotonian\u2014but if you are, more power to you, Peloton your brains out, but it’s just not my thing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Nye says that bicycling is when he\u2019s able to embrace the outdoors with no headphones and just be \u201cout on the road.\u201d We got good news for him: there\u2019s recent research<\/a> that shows cycling being linked to a 19% lower dementia risk and 22% lower Alzheimer\u2019s risk. Whether you love to bike, walk or run, active travel is the way, and biking especially can help improve your coordination and relieve stress<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI like to keep busy,\u201d Nye puts it plainly, and the video series he created with the National Ataxia Foundation is a prime example. It\u2019s brain-stimulating for both Nye and viewers, as you receive a brand-new science lesson all about ataxia. The first episode is out now:\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe same way you might know Lou Gehrig’s disease or Parkinson’s, we want everybody to know the word ataxia,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you or somebody in your family is having these kinds of symptoms, trouble walking, trouble talking, trouble with fine motor skills, shortness of breath, it may be Friedrich ataxia, and we want you to see your doctor and get diagnosed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bill Nye launches a new web series with the National Ataxia Foundation to raise awareness of the rare…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[97,269],"class_list":{"0":"post-186818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}