Cerebellar cysts in children: a pattern recognition approach

Cerebellar cysts may be seen in selected genetic disorders and acquired anomalies. Here, we review our experience, excluding cystic tumors and parasitic cysts. The pathogenesis is heterogeneous: Cysts may involve/represent normal structures (e.g., Virchow-Robin spaces), be "destructive" (such as in some types of pontocerebellar hypoplasias), "malformative" (such as in some forms of congenital muscular dystrophies and GPR56-related migration disorders), or "disruptive" (such as in some cerebellar dysplasias). The provided checklist may be useful in deciding targeted diagnostic workup.