Truncal ataxia

Clinic

• Truncal ataxia is a gait characterized by uncertain starts and stops, lateral deviations and unequal steps.
• It is an instability of the trunk and often seen during sitting.
• It is most visible when shifting position or walking heel-to-toe.
• It affects proximal muscles such as trunk, shoulder girdle and hip girdle.
• Truncal ataxia is different from appendicular ataxia. Appendicular ataxia affects the movements of the arms and legs. It is caused by lesions of the cerebellar hemispheres.

Causes

Truncal ataxia is caused by midline damage to the cerebellar vermis.

Dynamic causes	Static causes
Cerebellar ataxia Multiple sclerosis Post viral cerebellar ataxia GSS Epilepsy	Alcohol intoxication Cerebral Infarction / Hemorrhage Friedreich's ataxia Drugs: Benzodiazepines, Lithium, Phenytoin Adrenoleukodystrophy Ataxia oculomotor apraxia type 1 Branchial myoclonus Christianson syndrome Dandy–Walker syndrome Dysequilibrium syndrome	Microcephaly N-acetylaspartate deficiency Neuhauser–Eichner–Opitz syndrome Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration Polymicrogyria Spinocerebellar ataxia Vertebral dissection Episodic ataxia Machado–Joseph disease Rett syndrome