Voltage-Gated P/Q-Type Calcium Channel Antibodies Associated With Cerebellar Degeneration.

BACKGROUND: Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is a rare neurological condition characterized by diffuse cerebellar dysfunction and magnetic resonance imaging evidence of progressive cerebellar atrophy. It has been associated with several autoantibodies and malignancies in adults. To date, only six cases have been described in male children.

PATIENT DESCRIPTION: We describe an eight-year-old girl with a prodrome of abdominal pain and vomiting followed by acute onset diplopia, dysarthria, dysmetria, and ataxia. She was found to have cerebellar degeneration in association with P/Q-type calcium channel antibodies.

CONCLUSION: This is the first child with documented paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration in association with P/Q-type calcium channel antibodies.