Enhancing cerebellar infarction.

Five patients with CT evidence of enhancing cerebellar infarcts are analyzed. This represented 12% of cerebellar infarcts diagnosed by CT scan. The pattern of cerebellar linear enhancing bands which are contiguous with a hypo- or isodense lesion is quite characteristic of cerebellar infarction. In two cases, the lesion appeared isodense on the plain scan and therefore the enhanced scan was crucial to establishing the diagnosis of a cerebellar infarction. The presence of nodular or ring enhancement is sometimes seen with cerebellar infarction but is more common of neoplastic disorders, vascular malformations, or infectious-inflammatory disorders. The enhancement pattern of the cerebellar infarctions developed within the initial seven days after the onset of neurological deficit, and this is earlier than the enhancement pattern of supratentorial ischemic vascular lesions.