Friedreich's ataxia is the most prevalent inherited ataxia,[REF] affecting about 1 in 50,000 people in the United States.
A 1984 Canadian study was able to trace 40 cases of classical Friedreich's disease from 14 French-Canadian kindreds previously thought to be unrelated to one common ancestral couple arriving in New France in 1634: Jean Guyon and Mathurine Robin [REF].