ARTICLE IN PRESS E U R O P E A N J O U R N A L O F PA E D I AT R I C N E U R O L O G Y
12 (2008) 155 – 167
Official Journal of the European Paediatric Neurology Society
Review article
Differential diagnosis of cerebellar atrophy in childhood Andrea Porettia, Nicole I. Wolfa,b, Eugen Boltshausera, a
Department of Paediatric Neurology, University Children’s Hospital of Zurich, Steinwiesstrasse 75, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland Department of Paediatric Neurology, University Children’s Hospital of Heidelberg, Germany
b
art i cle info
ab st rac t
Article history:
Starting from the imaging appearance of cerebellar atrophy (CA) we provide checklists for
Received 31 May 2007
various groups of CA: hereditary CA, postnatally acquired CA, and unilateral CA. We also
Received in revised form
include a list of disorders with ataxia as symptom, but no evidence of CA on imaging. These
20 July 2007
checklists may be helpful in the evaluation of differential diagnosis and planning of
Accepted 26 July 2007
additional investigations. However, the complete constellation of clinical (including history and neurological examination), imaging, and other information have to be considered. On
Keywords: Cerebellar atrophy Cerebellar hypoplasia Children Neuroimaging Pattern-recognition
the basis of a single study distinction between prenatal onset atrophy, postnatal onset atrophy, and cerebellar hypoplasia is not always possible. Apart from rare exceptions, neuroimaging findings of CA are nonspecific. A pattern-recognition approach is suggested, considering isolated (pure) CA, CA and hypomyelination, CA and progressive white matter abnormalities, CA and basal ganglia involvement, and cerebellar cortex hyperintensity. & 2007 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Contents 1. 2. 3.
4.
5. 6.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Neuroimaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 3.1. Diseases selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 3.2. Personal experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Cerebellar atrophy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 4.1. Hereditary cerebellar atrophies (Table 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 4.2. Acquired cerebellar atrophies (Table 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 4.3. Unilateral Cerebellar Atrophy (Table 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Ataxia without Cerebellar Atrophy (Table 5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Note added in proof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 44 266 73 30; fax: +41 44 266 71 63.
E-mail address: Eugen.Boltshauser@kispi.uzh.ch (E. Boltshauser). 1090-3798/$ - see front matter & 2007 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejpn.2007.07.010