Early functional impairment prior to neurodegeneration has been reported in a mouse model of SCA38 with homozygous knockout of ELOVL5, with motor impairment appearing by 3 months of age, followed by thinning of the cerebellar cortex by 6 months of age, without Purkinje cell loss out to at least 18 months of age [56]. Here, ELOVL5 is linked to Spinocerebellar ataxia type 38.