Abstract

A 84 year-old woman presented with a two weeks history of dizziness, slurred speech and ataxia. The neurologic exam showed spontaneous left beating nystagmus, horizontal gaze evoked nystagmus and limb ataxia. A few weeks earlier, she had an upper airway infection. Brain MRI revealed diffuse leptomeningeal enhancement in the both cerebellar hemisphere and brain SPECT showed hyperperfusion in both cerebellar hemisphere. Extensive laboratory studies with cerebrospinal fluid analysis did not reveal any etiologic factors. She was started on methylprednisolone(1g/day for 7days), gradually improved over the weeks. Post infectious cerebellar ataxia is a neurologic complication that occasionally follows systemic viral and bacterial infections. This case demonstrates that cerebellar abnormalities can be detected by brain MRI and SPECT.

• Keywords: Post infectious cerebellar ataxia; Brain magnetic resonance image; Single photon emission computed tomography;