A case of left thalamic hemorrhage presenting pure ataxia

We report a case of left thalamic hemorrhage presenting pure ataxia. A 71-year-old male was admitted because of the sudden onset of gait distrubance and right-sided ataxia on October 13, 1988. Neurological examination revealed slight truncal ataxia, right-sided cerbellar ataxia, and very mild dysarthria. Muscle strength of the extremities was normal. Plain CT scans revealed a small high density area in the left frontal region as well as the left thalamus. Pure cerebellar ataxia caused by thalamic hemorrhage is rare. In this case, ataxia may have been caused by hemorrhage localized in the lateral thalamus (VL) where the dentate-rubro-thalamic pathway terminated. This case suggests that it is necessary to consider the possibility of thalamic hemorrhage even when the patient presents pure cerebellar ataxia.