1 Litre of Tears

Aya Kito was diagnosed with a disease called spinocerebellar Degeneration when she was 15 years old. The disease causes the person to lose control over their body, but because the person can retain all mental ability the disease acts as a prison. Aya discovers this disastrous news as the disease has already developed. There is no cure.

Through family, medical examinations and rehabilitations, and finally succumbing to the disease, Aya must cope with the disease and live on with life until her death at the age of 25.

Erika Sawajiri who played Aya



Aya in real life


Recently i watch the full version of the Japanese TV drama series "One Litre of Tears. It's so inspiring and a great story too! Aya Ikeuchi the girl who suffers Spinocerebellar Degeneration was played by Erika Sawajiri. The drama series is heart touching which will make anyone cry and watch the entire series. A very inspiring story, a girl who suffer and keep on fighting for her disease, not losing hope and inspires many people. Aya is a fighter!

But do you know what is Spinocerebellar Degeneration?

Symptoms

Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is one of a group of genetic disorders characterized by slowly progressive incoordination of gait and often associated with poor coordination of hands, speech, and eye movements. Frequently, atrophy of the cerebellum occurs, and different ataxias are known to affect different regions within the cerebellum.

As with other forms of ataxia, SCA results in unsteady and clumsy motion of the body due to a failure of the fine coordination of muscles movements, along with other symptoms

The symptoms of an ataxia vary with the specific type and with the individual patient. Generally, a person with ataxia retains full mental capacity but may progressively lose physical control.

Treatment and prognosis

There is no known cure for spinocerebellar ataxia, which is a progressive disease (it gets worse with time), although not all types cause equally severe disability.

Treatments are generally limited to softening symptoms, not the disease itself. The condition can be irreversible. A person with this disease will usually end up needing to use a wheelchair, and eventually they may need assistance to perform daily tasks.

The treatment of incoordination or ataxia, then mostly involves the use of adaptive devices to allow the ataxic individual to maintain as much independence as possible. Such devices may include a cane, crutches, walker, or wheelchair for those with impaired gait; devices to assist with writing, feeding, and self care if hand and arm coordination are impaired; and communication devices for those with impaired speech.

Many patients with hereditary or idiopathic forms of ataxia have other symptoms in addition to ataxia. Medications or other therapies might be appropriate for some of these symptoms, which could include tremor, stiffness, depression, spasticity, and sleep disorders, among others.

Inheritance

The hereditary ataxias are categorized by mode of inheritance and causative gene or chromosomal locus. The hereditary ataxias can be inherited in an autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked manner.

Source: Wikipedia