Acute cerebellar ataxia

Alternative names:

ataxia - acute cerebellar; cerebellar ataxia

Definition:

The sudden onset of the movement disorder, ataxia, often following an infectious viral disease.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Acute cerebellar ataxia occurs most often in children, especially those younger than 3 years old. It often follows a viral infection by several weeks. Common predisposing infections included chickenpox and Coxsackie viral illnesses.

Ataxia is characterized by a broad-based unsteady gait. When the child is sitting, the trunk may deviate side-to-side and back-to-front or any combination and return to the vertical in a jerky type motion. Jerky eye movements (nystagmus) and jerky explosive speech (dysarthria) may develop at the same time.

The condition usually subsides without treatment over a period of weeks to months. Occasionally, a child will be left with a persistent movement disorder or behavioral disorder.