[Cerebellar ataxia and acute cerebellar insult]

Ataxia, loss of muscle coordination during complex movement, is the most important sign of cerebellar lesion. Acute cerebellar attack of ischaemic and/or haemorrhagic nature is a focal disorder of cerebellar function which occurs rarely considering the prominent collateral net of blood vessels conveying blood to the cerebellum and the brain stem. We examined 12 patients with acute cerebellar attack (9 with ischaemic and 3 with haemorrhagic attack) of 300 patients with symptoms and signs of acute cerebrovascular attacks. We used all available diagnostic methods (EEG, neuro-ophthalmological examination, computed tomography as well as brain scintigraphy and angiography) in the management of these patients.