Gait Ataxia: The image associated with this question shows a sagittal view of the cerebellum. Chronic alcoholism causes atrophy of the anterior portion of the vermis, which is depicted in the gross image, and would lead to gait ataxia. Notice the posterior portion shows the gross absence of atrophy. Dysdiadochokinesia, dysmetria, essential tremor would indicate lateral cerebellar pathology. The presence of the Romberg sign is not related to the cerebellar function.
Prior to his death, this man may have had a gait ataxia. This basically means he couldn’t walk a straight line. He’s a 15-year alcoholic who’s having a period of sobriety due to his medications. He may have also had an essential tremor (answer C) since he’s sobering up. Alcoholics often shake when they are sober if their alcoholism is bad enough that they are drunk every day.
The sad case is that really, any of these could have been possible because we haven’t gotten a lot of other information about this man. A crucial piece to know would have been how long he had been sober before entering the hospital - if at all. That would affect his gait and his body overall.
This response does not explain the pathophysiology behind why the answer is gait ataxia and should be answered by an individual who has taken the NBME in question.