Acute cerebellar ataxia of childhood
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Clinic
- It is a childhood condition characterized by an unsteady gait
- Most likely secondary to an autoimmune response to infection, drug induced or paraneoplastic.
The most common viral causes are
- VZV
- EBV
- INFL
- CXA, CXB, ECHO
Bacterial cause
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Signs / Symptoms
- Acute cerebellar ataxia usually follows 2–3 weeks after an infection.
- Onset is abrupt.
- Vomiting may be present at the onset but fever and nuchal rigidity characteristically are absent.
- Horizontal nystagmus is present in approximately 50% of cases.
- Truncal ataxia with deterioration of gait
- Slurred speech and nystagmus
- Afebrile
Cause
Possible causes of acute cerebellar ataxia include varicella infection, as well as infection with influenza, Epstein–Barr virus, Coxsackie virus, Echo virus or mycoplasma.