The Darby Glide

Our family had been searching for the cause of our Ataxia for decades through studies at NIH, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Michigan. We now know what our family affectionately called The Darby Glide is part of a much larger community of people affected by SCA27b. The January 2023 discovery of SCA27b in the Nye/Darby family was the impetus for launching the SCA27b Ataxia Foundation. 

We have been able to trace The Darby Glide back to an American-born ancestor born in 1777. The family’s ancestry dates back to early settlers arriving from England in the 1600s. We now know that the mutation causing SCA27b is not unique to the Nye/Darby family. We are part of an international community of people affected by this specific Ataxia.

1960 - Nye Family

June 2023 Nye/Darby Family Reunion

Members of the Nye family at the 2023 NAF conference in Las Vegas