Cerebral hemispheric and contralateral cerebellar hypoperfusion during a transient ischemic attack.

We studied a 79-year-old woman within 3 h of the onset of a motor aphasia and a right hemiparesis. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) showed a 24% decrease in the perfusion of the left middle cerebral artery territory and a 16% reduction in the perfusion of the right cerebellum. A mild naming difficulty was the neurological deficit at the end of the SPECT examination, and complete recovery was achieved within 24 h. Repeated SPECT study 10 days later was normal. This is the first report of focal hemispheric and contralateral cerebellar hypoperfusion in transient cerebral ischemia.