1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-8-91-b 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-8-12-5 Speech and Language Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Cerebellar Mutism http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 12 1994 01 06 2016 8 12 91 92 Copyright: © 1994 The Author(s) 1994 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The syndrome of ‘cerebellar’ mutism and subsequent dysarthria

Of a series of 15 children operated for cerebellar tumor at University Hospital Rotterdam-Dijkzigt, The Netherlands, 5 developed “cerebellar mutism” and subsequent dysarthria after surgery, and 2 had mild speech problems.

 Cerebellar Mutism Astrocytomas Medulloblastoma

Of a series of 15 children operated for cerebellar tumor at University Hospital Rotterdam-Dijkzigt, The Netherlands, 5 developed “cerebellar mutism” and subsequent dysarthria after surgery, and 2 had mild speech problems. Of 8 without speech problems, 7 had astrocytomas, with involvement of a cerebellar hemisphere. Of the 5 with mutism, 4 had medulloblastomas, and all had tumors that lined the fourth ventricle. Mutism was delayed for 1 to 2 days after surgery. Alternating movements of the tongue were impaired but no paresis of bulbar muscles was evident in mute patients. The duration of mutism varied from 3 to 8 weeks. Speech was regained suddenly and unexpectedly, and the severe dysarthria that followed lasted for 1 to 5 weeks. Recovery was associated with normalization of tongue movements. Factors predictive of mutism were 1) tumor filling and adherence to the floor of the fourth ventricle; 2) shunting for hydrocephalus prior to surgery; and 3) postsurgical edema of the pontine tegmentum. [1]

COMMENT. The authors cite 36 cases of cerebellar mutism from the literature. An additional 2 cases are reported in Progress in Pediatric Neurology Vol. II, Chicago, PNB Publishers, 1994, pp219-220. The complication was correlated with the amount of the posterior vermis resected. One tumor was a medulloblastoma and the other an astrocytoma. Speech was regained after 2 months.

A case of mutism followed by dysarthria and agrammatic speech is reported in an adult after a right cerebellar infarction. [2]

 van Dongen HR Catsman-Berrevoets CE van Mourik M The syndrome of ‘cerebellar’ mutism and subsequent dysarthria Neurology 1994 Nov 44 11 2040 2046 10.1212/WNL.44.11.2040 7969956 Silveri MC Leggio MG Molinari M The cerebellum contributes to linguistic production: a case of agrammatic speech following a right cerebellar lesion Neurology 1994 Nov 44 11 2047 2050 10.1212/WNL.44.11.2047 7969957