Olivopontine cerebellar atrophy has these common symptoms

Olivopontine-cerebellar atrophy is most common among middle-aged and elderly people. The most typical symptom of patients is functional disorders in the cerebellum. At first, the lower limbs will show weakness and fall easily, followed by eye movement disorders. Needs early treatment.

1. Cerebellar ataxia Cerebellar dysfunction is the most prominent symptom of this disease, accounting for 73%, manifested as progressive cerebellar ataxia. How early does it appear?

The most common initial symptoms were weakness of lower limbs and ataxia (88%). The first symptoms are in the lower limbs, and the patient often seeks medical attention after complaining of weakness, fatigue, and easy falls in the lower limbs. The spontaneous movements are slow and inflexible, the gait is unstable, the balance is impaired, and the base is widened. Gradually, the patient loses the ability to perform fine motor movements in both upper limbs, and becomes clumsy and unstable. Symptoms of cranial nerve damage due to cerebellar dysfunction include dizziness, dysarthria, intermittent speech, dysphagia, coughing when drinking water, nystagmus, and intention tremor. In some cases, there may be fasciculations of the tongue and facial muscles. Facial nerve paralysis may also occur.

2. Eye movement disorders

It is similar to supranuclear ophthalmoplegia (i.e. difficulty in looking up, high muscle tone in the limbs, hyperreflexia, positive or negative pathological tract signs), and can manifest as convergence disorder and extraocular muscle movement disorder (each accounting for about 60%). Slow eye movement

Slowing of saccadic movement, or slowing of eye movements, may be a characteristic clinical sign of OPCA, but its mechanism is unclear. Electronystagmography examination shows horizontal gaze nystagmus (about 80%). Abnormal steady pursuit (ETT), abnormal optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) and failure of visual suppression (VS) in cold-warm test. Optic nerve atrophy may occur.

3. Autonomic dysfunction such as orthostatic hypotension, flaccid bladder (urinary incontinence or retention), sexual dysfunction and sweating disorders.

4. Pyramidal tract signs Some authors report that tendon hyperreflexia or extension plantar reflexes can sometimes be found during patient examinations, but the clinical manifestations of pyramidal tract symptoms are relatively mild.

5. Extrapyramidal system symptoms

Some patients develop symptoms and signs of extrapyramidal system diseases in the late stage. Literature reports that 33% to 50% of patients develop symptoms of Parkinson's syndrome in the late stage, and 8.2% of patients have Parkinson's syndrome as the first symptom. Involuntary limb movements and athetosis occur in some cases.