ATXN2 and Machado-Joseph disease: On a final note, ATXN2 has been shown to take part in various other neurodegenerative diseases besides SCA2, such as ALS, SCA1, MJD, and PD, revealing an intrinsic cascade of pathways regulated by this gene (Al-Ramahi et al., 2007; Lessing and Bonini, 2008; Elden et al., 2010; Nóbrega et al., 2015; Nkiliza et al., 2016; Sen et al., 2016).