Superficial siderosis of the central nervous system: A 70-year-old man with ataxia, depression and visual deficits

Background: Superficial siderosis of the central nervous system (SSNS) is c aused by cerebral, cerebellar and spinal cord tissue deposition of hemoside rin, often related to repeated episodes of subarachnoid hemorrhage, Typical symptoms include ataxia, sensorineural deafness and dementia, Methods and Results: An elderly patient with SSNS presenting with ataxia, depression an d severe visual impairment was admitted to the Unit of Geriatrics of the Un iversity Hospital of Perugia, Italy. Late diagnosis and the association of symptoms with SSNS prevented the possible surgical treatment of the disease . Conclusions: Recognition of uncommon clinical variants may facilitate ear ly diagnosis of SSNS a nd improve therapeutic results. Copyright (C) 2001 S . Karger AG, Basel.