title: Posterior fossa syndrome after a vermian stroke: a new case and review of the literature.
abstract: The posterior fossa syndrome (PFS) is a well-known clinical consequence of posterior fossa surgery that has only been reported in a limited number of cases with a nontumoral etiology. It consists of transient cerebellar mutism, behavioral abnormalities and personality changes. We describe a 12-year-old child who developed transient cerebellar mutism associated with behavioral and emotional symptoms following rupture of a vermis arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Following the stroke, the girl experienced a 24-hour symptom-free interval. After that, she became mute and her emotional state was characterized by severe anxiety, irritability and withdrawal. After 3 days, mutism resolved and dysarthria became apparent. Two weeks after stroke, the AVM was surgically removed and the postoperative course was uneventful. This case is the first reported in which the PFS occurred after focal nonsurgically induced cerebellar damage.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Linguistics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baillieux
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Weyns
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paquier
authors.forename: Peter P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: De Deyn
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mariën
mesh_terms: D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology