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The clinical significance of pneumographic cerebellar atrophy

Departments of Neurology and Radiology, Section of Neurological Sciences, The London Hospital, London E1 1BB

The clinical significance of apparent pneumographic cerebellar atrophy has been studied in a group of 44 otherwise unselected patients found to have cerebellar atrophy, according to previously suggested criteria, at pneumoencephalography. Lateral and postero-anterior tomography of the posterior fossa was performed in all these cases. In each case the width of two or more sulci in the cerebellar vermis exceeded 2 mm. We have concluded that:

(1) There is a relationship between the severity of pneumographic cerebellar atrophy and the severity of clinical signs of cerebellar disease (p = 0.03).

(2) Severe or moderate atrophy of the vermis, whether generalized or focal, is usually associated with clinical signs of cerebellar disease, but mild atrophy of the vermis, equivalent to the "moderate" atrophy of previous studies, has no apparent diagnostic significance.

(3) Atrophy of the cerebellar hemispheres, in the absence of atrophy of the vermis, is very unusual and it cannot, by itself, be correlated with clinical signs of cerebellar disease.

(4) In individual cases, assessment of the significance of pneumographic cerebellar atrophy cannot be made without adequate clinical information.

Received for publication June 1, 1976.