Cerebellar Atrophy,just as the name implies,means the cerebellum shrinks to a much smaller size than the normal one. It is caused by degeneration and loss of cells. Some of the diseases are inherited, some are known to be due to virus infection in utero, e.g. bovine virus diarrhea, feline panleukopenia. Some are in fact abiotrophies, premature aging of tissues.
Cerebellar atrophy starts slow,but is progressively getting worse. For majority patient,itis difficult to recall the exact onset date. The clinical manifestations of cerebellar atrophy differ based on the location and severiety of atrophy. Patients with diffuse cortical atrophy often show wishful thinking, intelligence drop, memory impairment, personality change as well as paralysis and seizures. Focal cerebral atrophy often result in main character change,speaking disorders,ataxic movement and tremor.
In the past, it was generally believed that brain cells that are non-renewable,and clinical drug treatment and rehabilitation were mostly ineffective. But now stem cells treatment has been proven to be an effective method for treating brain atrophy.
