Abstract
Background An 83-year-old man presented with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and a previous basal cell carcinoma, having developed progressive worsening of his balance and difficulty walking at the age of 78 years. He was initially diagnosed with stroke, but MRI revealed only isolated cerebellar atrophy. The patient then underwent multiple evaluations for an underlying paraneoplastic process, all of which were negative, but his symptoms progressed and he remained undiagnosed for several years.
Investigations Neurological examination, laboratory blood tests, MRI, and directed genetic testing.
Diagnosis Five years after becoming symptomatic, the patient was re-evaluated for a possible genetic ataxia syndrome, which was subsequently confirmed by gene testing as spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6).
Management Symptomatic medical treatment and physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
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Supplementary information
Supplementary Table 1
Internet resources: internet sites that may be useful for the differential diagnosis of hereditary ataxias. (DOC 25 kb)
Supplementary Reference List 1
Supplementary references for Table 4. (DOC 27 kb)
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Fogel, B., Perlman, S. An approach to the patient with late-onset cerebellar ataxia. Nat Rev Neurol 2, 629–635 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneuro0319
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneuro0319
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