cells. As a consequence, motor coordination declines and eventually death ensues. Some domestic animals can develop a condition where the Purkinje cells begin to atrophy shortly after birth, called cerebellar abiotrophy. It can lead to symptoms such as ataxia, intention tremors, hyperreactivity, lack of menace reflex, stiff or high-stepping gait, apparent lack of awareness of foot position (sometimes standing or walking with a foot knuckled over), and a general inability to determine space and distance. A similar condition known as cerebellar hypoplasia occurs when Purkinje cells fail to develop in utero or die off before birth. The genetic conditions ataxia telangiectasia and Niemann Pick disease type C, as well as cerebellar essential tremor, involve the progressive loss of Purkinje cells. In Alzheimer's disease, spinal pathology is sometimes seen, as well as loss of dendritic branches of the Purkinje cells. Purkinje cells can also be damaged by the rabies virus as it migrates from the site of infection in the periphery to the central nervous system. Etymology Purkinje cells are named after the Czech scientist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, who discovered them in 1839. References External links Cell Image Library - Purkinje Disorders of cerebellum NIF Search - Purkinje Cell via the Neuroscience Information Framework Further reading Neurons Cerebellum Central nervous system neurons