Relationship between ataxia and inferior cerebellar peduncle injury in patients with cerebral infarct

Introduction: The inferior cerebellar peduncle (ICP) is a major neural tract in the cerebellum and is involved in coordination of movement and proprioceptive; therefore, ICP injury can be accompanied by poor coordination of movement, including ataxia. In this study, using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT), we investigated the relationship between ataxia and ICP injury in patients with cerebral infarct. Methods: We recruited 14 stroke patients with ataxia after the onset of stroke and 12 normal subjects. The Score of Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) was used to evaluate ataxia. The values of fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient, and fiber number (FN) of the ICP were measured for the diffusion tensor imaging parameters. Results: Significant differences were observed in the FA and FN values of the ICP in the affected hemisphere between the patient and control groups (P<.05). In addition, the FN value of the ICP in the affected hemisphere showed a negative correlation with SARA (r=-0.538, P<.05). However, parameters of the ICP in the unaffected hemisphere or the FN value in the unaffected hemisphere showed no correlation with SARA (P>.05). Conclusion: We found that the ataxia severity was closely related to the severity of ICP injury in patients with cerebral infarct. Our results suggest that evaluation of the ICP using DTT would be useful for patients with ataxia after cerebral infarct.