Hypomagnesemia, a Rare Cause of Reversible Ataxia

A 61-year-old male patient presented with cerebellar syndrome, which had progressively worsened for 10 days, followed by a tonic-clonic seizure.

Blood analysis showed severe hypomagnesemia and a brain MRI showed T2 hyperintensity in the cerebellar hemispheres (Figure 1). Therefore, the final diagnosis was cerebellar syndrome and epileptic seizures secondary to severe hypomagnesemia.

In cases of subacute onset of ataxia, the possibility of ataxia secondary to hypomagnesemia should be considered, as it can be diagnosed with a basic blood test and there are potentially life-threatening outcomes in the absence of treatment, with a reversible course following early supplementation.