Our Mission

The Ataxia Charlevoix-Saguenay Foundation’s mission is to discover and develop a treatment for the Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS).

Persons with ARSACS

You have been diagnosed with ARSACS, you are not alone. Individuals living with ARSACS are all around the world.

There is hope because Research that heals!

Researchers

Interested in doing ARSACS research ?

The Foundation supports ARSACS researchers by providing funding, research tools and supporting/ organizing conferences.

Furthermore, the Foundation is looking for partners to conduct preclinical and clinical trials.

Community

The Foundation is supported entirely by private donors and volunteers. We need your support to pursue the mission. 

Different ways you can help. Get involved. 

Your voice is very important. Make your voice heard by participating in ARSACS research. 

Connect with Other ARSACS Patients

ARSACS International Patient Registry

Researchers & Pharmaceuticals

Apply for a grant

 The Foundation provides grants and opportunities to researchers.The research grant could be as high as $100,000 for a 12 month period and could be renewed for a second year.

Research tools available

  • Sacs Knock Out mouse (#033221)
  • Sacs Knock In mouse (#033385)
  • iPS cells derived from samples taken from people diagnosed with ARSACS (homozygous c.8844delT). 

 

Conferences

The Foundation organizes and supports conferences such as the International ARSACS Symposium.

Preclinical and clinical trials

The Foundation is looking for partners  to conduct preclinical and clinical trials. It has the expertise and the tools available.

What can I do to help the ARSACS community and the ARSACS Foundation?

ARSACS is a rare disease. You can help by becoming an ARSACS advocate and creating awareness for the cause.

You can organize fundraising activities in your community to support research and clinical trials.

Another way to help ….  Be the eyes on what is going on. You do not have to be a scientist to help advance science for ARSACS. We believe that research on other neurological diseases may help research on ARSACS and eventually lead to therapies. This is the reason why we asked you to be the eyes on what is going on for other types of ataxias and other neurological diseases. In other words, if you see or read scientific material that is worth sharing and validating (outbreaks, drugs, clinical trials, fundamental research developments), please do not hesitate to transmit this information to the ARSACS Foundation. The Foundation has dedicated volunteers and can seek professional advice to confirm or infirm the relevance of the information with respect to ARSACS.

The Ataxia Charlevoix-Saguenay Foundation’s mission is to discover and develop a treatment for the Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS).

The Ataxia Charlevoix-Saguenay Foundation, founded in 2006, is a charitable organization federally registered with no employees and is supported entirely by private donations and volunteers 

Research that heals so

There is HOPE

The Foundation’s mission is to discover and develop a treatment for the Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS).

Progress has been made over the years in identifying the source of the disorder. Your support is crucial to continue funding high potential projects as well as a clinical trial of a repurposed drug.

Latest News

PhD and Publication from a Funded Project

PhD and Publication from a Funded Project

A research article from a project funded by the Foundation in 2022–2023 has just been published. This study on cellular models of ARSACS also led to Dr. Fernanda Murtinheira successfully defending her PhD. Congrats to Drs. Fernanda and Federico Herrera for this significant achievement!

Read the article

New scientific publication on ARSACS

New scientific publication on ARSACS

Read about this recent scientific publication on ARSACS.
The research featured in this article was funded by Associazione ARSACS ODV – Italy, a foundation established by one of the members of our Board of Directors, Dr. Paolo Arrigoni.
Read the article

The Foundation at the 2025 World Orphan Drug Congress

From April 22 to 24, the Ataxia Charlevoix-Saguenay Foundation was present at the World Orphan Disease Congress (WODC), a major event gathering global leaders in the field of rare diseases and orphan drugs.

We had the privilege of:

✅ Presenting the progress in the development of a gene therapy for ARSACS, with Alexandre Paré (PhD candidate at McGill).

✅ Leading an inspiring roundtable on the real-life challenges faced by patients, with Sonia Gobeil, Betsy Trainor and Dr. Jeremy Schmahmann (Harvard Medical School).