Cerebellopontine angle meningioma in a patient presented as acute cerebrovascular accident

Cerebellopontine angle (CPA) meningioma is a slowly growing benign tumor of the brain that may compress adjacent neural structures. It has variable clinical presentations that progress very slowly depending on its growth pattern and associated mass effect. A sudden onset clinical presentation is unusual and should prompt consideration of other potential etiologies.

Here, the authors present a 66-year-old male patient with diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia who presented to the emergency department of our hospital with sudden onset walking difficulty (ataxia). On examination, the patient was fully conscious. There was no associated cranial nerve deficit, hearing loss, or focal/lateralizing weakness. All sensory modalities were intact. However, the patient had a gait impairment. Romberg and tandem gait tests were positive with the tendency to sway to the left. The patient was admitted with suspicion of acute cerebrovascular disease. The initial noncontrast brain computed tomography and subsequent diffusion MRI were inconclusive. A later brain MRI with contrast revealed a homogeneously contrast enhancing meningioma in the left CPA.

The differential diagnosis of sudden onset ataxia is broad and should include the assessment of a possible CPA lesion. Sudden onset ataxia by a CPA meningioma is very rare as meningiomas grow very slowly. A brain MRI with contrast is essential for its diagnosis.

Although stroke is the main cause of sudden onset ataxia in a patient with cerebrovascular risk factors, yet other less common causes may be found as in this case of CPA meningioma.