Do you know the common substances that can cause cerebellar atrophy?

T1W brain MRI – can you spot the cerebellar atrophy?

Several substances can cause midline cerebellar atrophy. The image above demonstrates loss of volume of the cerebellum, specifically the cerebellar folia, the small “leaf like” gyri of the cerebellum – can you see it? Scroll down for an annotated image.

One potential culprit is long term us of phenytoin, an anti-epileptic medication.

Another possible culprit is long term alcohol use.

The blue arrows indicate the dark areas of cerebellar atrophy, where there has been volume loss of the cerebellar folia.

There are other causes of cerebellar degeneration, but long term phenytoin and alcohol are two of the most common toxic causes.

Click here to read more about T1W vs T2W brain MRI.