Cerebellar Ataxia Syndrome: Causes

What causes cerebellar ataxia syndrome?

Cerebellar ataxia syndrome is caused by damage to or problems with the cerebellum. The cerebellum is the part of your brain that is responsible for coordination and balance. A wide variety of diseases, disorders and conditions can lead to problems with the cerebellum and cause ataxia.

Cerebellar ataxia syndrome can be categorized based on the cause of the problem.

Autoimmune and inflammatory causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

Autoimmune and inflammatory causes may include:

• Behcet’s disease (disease that causes damage to blood vessels, especially the veins)

• Celiac disease (severe sensitivity to gluten from wheat and other grains that causes intestinal damage)

• Multiple sclerosis (disease that affects the brain and spinal cord causing weakness, coordination and balance difficulties, and other problems)

• Paraneoplastic degeneration (rare immune system disorder that attacks the cerebellum)

Congenital and developmental causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

Congenital causes are disorders that are present at or before birth. They may include:

• Agenesis (failure of the cerebellum to fully develop)

• Chiari malformation (herniation of the cerebellum through the opening in the base of the skull)

• Dandy-Walker cyst (congenital malformation of the cerebellum)

• Joubert syndrome (absence or underdevelopment of the cerebellum)

Genetic or inherited causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

There are a wide variety of rare genetic disorders that can cause cerebellar ataxia syndrome including:

• Ataxia telangiectasia (rare disorder that causes degeneration of the cerebellum)

• Friedreich’s ataxia (rare disease that causes degeneration of the cerebellum, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves)

• Kearns-Sayre syndrome (rare neuromuscular disorder caused by DNA abnormalities)

• Mitochondrial encephalopathy with ragged red fibers (MERRF, a metabolic disorder)

• Mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, stroke-like episodes (MELAS syndrome, a metabolic disorder)

• Multiple systems atrophy (rare, progressive neurological disorder)

• Neuropathy, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa (NARP, a metabolic disorder)

• Spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (gene mutation)

Infectious causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

Infectious causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome may include:

• Chickenpox

• Coxsackie disease (viral infection also called hand-foot-and-mouth disease)

• Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (rare disease believed to be an infection that causes mental deterioration)

• Encephalitis or brain abscess (brain inflammation or infection)

• Epstein-Barr virus

• HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)

• Lyme disease (inflammatory bacterial disease spread by ticks)

• Mycoplasma pneumonia (type of bacterial pneumonia)

Metabolic causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

Metabolic causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome may include:

• Hypoparathyroidism (underactive parathyroid gland)

• Thyroid diseases

• Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency

• Vitamin E deficiency

Pharmacologic causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

Medications that may cause cerebellar ataxia syndrome include:

• Amiodarone (Cordarone)

• Carbamazepine (Tegretol)

• Certain cancer chemotherapies

• Cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune)

• Lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid)

• Phenytoin (Dilantin)

Toxic causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

Toxins and poisons that may cause cerebellar ataxia syndrome include:

• Alcohol

• Carbon monoxide

• Heavy metals, such as mercury, lead and thallium

• Heroin

• Organic solvents, such as toluene and benzene

• Phencyclidine (PCP)

Other causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome

Other causes of cerebellar ataxia syndrome may include:

• Brain tumors

• Stroke and other vascular conditions

• Trauma

What are the risk factors for cerebellar ataxia syndrome?

A number of factors are thought to increase your chances of developing cerebellar ataxia syndrome. Common risk factors include:

• Exposure to certain drugs or toxins

• Having a family member with a genetic form of cerebellar ataxia

• Recent vaccination

• Viral infections