An elderly man with progressive ataxia and palatal tremor presenting with dizziness and oculopalatal tremor

Abstract

A 74-year-old man was referred to our department for dizziness and progressive unsteady gait over 6 years. His family history was unremarkable. Neurological examination showed dysarthria, saccadic eye movement, palatal tremor (1.7 Hz)-synchronous with rotational ocular movement, and truncal ataxia. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed hyperintense and hypertrophic bilateral inferior olivary nuclei at the medulla and mild cerebellar atrophy. On the basis of neurological findings of oculopalatal tremor and cerebellar ataxia with brain MRI findings, the diagnosis of progressive ataxia and palatal tremor (PAPT) was made. PAPT should be included in differential diagnosis of dizziness observed in elderly individuals.