Cerebellar diseases

Abstract

Cerebellar diseases are recognized by a combination of clinical findings consisting of gait ataxia, dysarthria, incoordination and eye movement abnormalities. The patient with a cerebellar syndrome can be classified by age of onset of symptoms and course of illness. In general, an acute presentation is more likely to have a symptomatic cause whereas a chronic, progressive course is likely to represent a neurodegenerative condition. Increasingly, the spectrum of cerebellar degeneration is being elucidated as molecular techniques identify genetic causes. This review synthesizes the clinical features of cerebellar dysfunction and presents a method for classifying the cerebellar disorders. Evaluation would then follow according to this classification and prognosis and treatment based on specific etiology determined.