clinician · clinical case

Persistent vertigo and double vision

Vignette

A 64-year-old woman has 6 weeks of unsteadiness, episodic diplopia and downbeat nystagmus. MRI shows a small infarct in the cerebellar nodulus. RCT gain is normal but Tc is 34 s and she cannot suppress nystagmus when asked to fixate.

RCT pattern

Gain · eye / chair00.601.200.010.020.040.080.160.320.64frequency (Hz, log)Phase lead · degrees-2030800.010.020.040.080.160.320.64frequency (Hz, log)Symmetry · %-500500.010.020.040.080.160.320.64frequency (Hz, log)
Three-panel SHA summary. Shaded green = published normal band. Solid marker = patient/archetype curve; dashed = overlaid reference if shown.

Question

Which mechanism best explains the long Tc and failed suppression?