Lateropulsion Due to a Lesion of the Dorsal Spinocerebellar Tract

We report three cases showing body lateropulsion as the sole or predominant symptom of caudal lateral medullary infarction. All of them presented a small infarction on the lateral surface of the caudal medulla corresponding to the dorsal spinocerebellar tract (DSCT). Disturbed unconscious proprioception of the lower trunk and the lower limb conveyed by the DSCT might have been responsible for the isolated lateropulsion. Although lateropulsion itself improved within two weeks, one patient’s condition progressed to typical lateral medullary infarction. Lateropulsion caused by DSCT infarction could be a prodromal symptom of perfusion failure of a vertebral artery or the posterior inferior cerebellar artery.