Deep brain stimulation improves cerebellar tremor symptoms in paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration: a case report

Xiang Wei & Jun Yan et al. · 2025-05-14

1Citations
Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a rare neurological syndrome caused by a remote effect or immune response involving the cerebellum due to tumor. Here, we report a rare case of PCD secondary to ovarian cancer, presenting clinically with cerebellar tremor. The patient presented with involuntary movements affecting the head, neck, and limbs, along with ataxia and horizontal nystagmus. After conventional medical treatments proved ineffective, the patient underwent a multidisciplinary assessment and received approval from the Institutional Review Board at Affiliated Nanjing Brain Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, to consent to deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) of the thalamus. During the 18-month follow-up, the frequency and amplitude of the tremor significantly improved, with the TRS (1-9) total score decreasing to 23, a 64.06% improvement compared to preoperative levels. The ADL scale score increased from 10 preoperatively to 35, indicating a significant improvement in quality of life. Additionally, the patient's cognitive and ataxic symptoms did not worsen. These results suggest significant improvement in symptoms compared to baseline, with enhanced daily life activities and improved quality of life.
Links
DOIPubMed
Journal
BMC Neurology
TL;DR

A rare case of PCD secondary to ovarian cancer, presenting clinically with cerebellar tremor, with significant improvement in symptoms compared to baseline, with enhanced daily life activities and improved quality of life is reported.

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Authors
Xiang Wei, Jingxuan Liu, Guanghan Lu, Jiuqi Yan, Wenwen Dong, Liang Zhao, Chang Qiu, Wenbin Zhang, Jun Yan
Funding
he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049-1)he Special Funds of the Jiangsu Provincial Key Research and Development Projects Grant (Nos. BE2022049 and BE2022049‐1)