Uncoordinated muscle movement due to disease or injury to the cerebellum.
It is usually caused by alterations in metabolism, biochemical, immune or toxic disorders, or by a specific injury to the cerebellum (bleeding, lack of blood supply, infection).
It manifests with difficulty walking, tremor, impaired hand coordination, impaired speech and blurred vision.
Diagnosis is made by clinical questioning, physical and neurological examination, CT scan and lumbar puncture to analyze cerebrospinal fluid.
Treatment will vary according to the triggering cause: in case of bleeding, surgery may be necessary; if it is due to a vascular accident, administration of anticoagulant drugs may be necessary; if the cause is an infection, antibiotics will be required; if there is inflammation of the cerebellum, treatment with steroids may be necessary.
- Nussinovitch M, Prais D, Volovitz B, et al. Post-infectious acute cerebellar ataxia in children. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 2003; 42:581.
- Desai J, Mitchell WG. Acute cerebellar ataxia, acute cerebellitis, and opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome. J Child Neurol 2012; 27:1482.
- Poretti A, Benson JE, Huisman TA, Boltshauser E. Acute ataxia in children: approach to clinical presentation and role of additional investigations. Neuropediatrics 2013; 44:127.
- Davis DP, Marino A. Acute cerebellar ataxia in a toddler: case report and literature review. J Emerg Med 2003; 24:281.
- G. Suárez Otero, P.Tirado Requero y j. Arcas Martínez. Ataxia. Manual de diagnóstico y terapéutica en pediatría. 5ª Edición. Capítulo 130. Páginas 1243:1246
