Abstract
BackgroundThere are no established theories regarding the role of the cerebellum in dystonia. We report a case of focal limb dystonia secondary to a vasogenic edema of the dentate nucleus caused by a symptomatic developmental venous anomaly.Case presentationA 44-year-old woman presented with sudden onset dystonia in her left arm for 1 week. Brain imaging revealed vasogenic edema in the deep white matter of the left cerebellar hemisphere, including the left dentate nucleus, secondary to a developmental venous anomaly. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography images showed hypometabolism in the corresponding cerebellar deep nuclei without the involvement of other brain regions. She was treated with a steroid. At the one-month follow-up, computed tomography scan demonstrated remission of the cerebellar edema, which was thought to be the cause of dystonia.ConclusionsThis case demonstrates that the cerebellum has an important role in the development of dystonia. Further studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between dystonia and cerebellar dysfunction.
Highlights
There are no established theories regarding the role of the cerebellum in dystonia
This case demonstrates that the cerebellum has an important role in the development of dystonia
Further studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between dystonia and cerebellar dysfunction
Summary
There are no established theories regarding the role of the cerebellum in dystonia. We report a case of focal limb dystonia secondary to a vasogenic edema of the dentate nucleus caused by a symptomatic developmental venous anomaly.Case presentation: A 44-year-old woman presented with sudden onset dystonia in her left arm for 1 week. Conclusions: This case demonstrates that the cerebellum has an important role in the development of dystonia. Dystonia has long been considered as a disorder of the basal ganglia signaling, but emerging evidence suggests that dystonia is a motor network disorder involving multiple brain regions, including the cerebellum [2]. There are much fewer case reports of the cerebellar focal lesions in focal dystonia compared to that of focal lesions in the basal ganglia.
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