The aim of this study was to establish a rehabilitation program for patients with cerebellar-based postural ataxia. Physiotherapists have reported symptomatic improvements in cerebellar patients after a training program consisting of standing on a moving platform. In our program healthy subjects (CTRL) and cerebellar patients (CBL) were tested in a sequence of sinusoidal stimulation-movements and a block of 20 fast or precise sidesteps, which were used to quantify any improvement. The sequence of stimulation movements and sidesteps was repeated eight times. During these maneuvers the center of vertical pressure (CVP) was recorded.

Precise sidesteps were clearly more difficult than fast side steps for both, CTRL and CBL. There was a clear difference in the time course between fast and precise steps in CTRL; this difference was frequently less pronounced in CBL. The variation of the CVP trajectory during the stand phase and during the step phase was clearly smaller in CTRL although some CBL showed a reduction of the variation i.e. improvement at the end of the whole session. This result was further supported by the CBL who were asked to score subjectively their condition during the week following our test program. These preliminary results give reasons to hope that simple physical treatment may temporarily reduce postural-based ataxia in CBL.

This study is supported by Else-Kröner-Fresenius Stiftung (A12/07)