Vertigo and Ataxia

Abstract Vertigo can be defined as the sensation of self-motion when no self-motion is actually occurring or the sensation of distorted self-motion during an otherwise normal head movement. The term encompasses false spinning sensations, and also other false sensations like swaying, tilting, bobbing, bouncing, or sliding. Vertigo can be discriminated from dizziness, which is the sensation of disturbed spatial orientation without a false sense of motion (Bisdorff et al., 2009). Vertigo ranks among the most frequent symptoms in medicine. A large epidemiological study of the general population in Germany yielded a lifetime prevalence of vertigo of 7.4%. In the vast majority of cases (88%) vertigo was recurrent (Neuhauser et al., 2005). Vertigo often indicates, but is not synonymous with, acute dysfunction of the vestibular system, occurring also in non-vestibular disorders such as phobia, cardiovascular disease, and, more rarely, epilepy (Newman-Toker et al., 2008). The history is of paramount importance to identify the cause of episodic vertigo, as patients often present in the symptom-free interval and laboratory testing in the interval may be normal. Beside the quality of symptoms, essential components of the history are timing, triggers, and accompanying symptoms. This chapter will focus on disorders presenting with episodic vertigo and ataxia.