Description
- Incoordination or clumsiness of movement
- Caused by cerebellar, vestibular (inner ear), or proprioceptive sensory (e.g., large fiber/peripheral nerve, dorsal root ganglion, posterior column/spinal cord) dysfunction
- Appendicular ataxia affects limb movement and results from disease of the cerebellar hemispheres.
- Truncal ataxia, gait ataxia, dysarthria, and nystagmus often occur together and reflect dysfunction of cerebellar midline structures (vermis).
- Clinical presentation:
- Cerebellar dysfunction due to intoxication is the most common cause of ataxia in children.
- Acute cerebellar ataxia following a benign viral infection is common in children.
- Chronic ataxia often signals serious underlying pathology (e.g., tumor, metabolic, or hereditary disorder).
Ataxia has been found in Select 5-Minute Pediatrics Topics
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