Superior Oblique Palsy Research Articles

Clinical features of excyclotorsion in the non-paretic eye of patients with congenital unilateral superior oblique palsy

BackgroundTo investigate preoperative clinical features and postoperative results according to the correspondence between excyclotorsion and the paretic eye in patients with congenital unilateral superior oblique palsy (USOP).MethodsA retrospective review of medical charts was performed. The patients were divided into the accordance (ocular excyclotorsion in the paretic eye) and disaccordance (ocular excyclotorsion in the non-paretic eye) groups. The degree of excyclotorsion (scale, 0–4) was measured. Age, sex, hypertropia at the primary position, fixation preference, inferior oblique overaction, and degree of excyclotorsion were measured.ResultsNinety-eight patients were included in this study. There were 70 (71.4%) and 28 patients (28.6%) in the accordance and disaccordance groups. Sixteen patients (22.9%) in the accordance group and 12 patients (42.9%) in the disaccordance group were aged under 2 years (p = 0.04). A fixation preference of the paretic eye was observed in 2 (2.9%) and 8 (28.6%) patients in the accordance and disaccordance groups (p < 0.01). The postoperative degree of excyclotorsion in the accordance group (0.14 ± 0.39) was lower than that in the disaccordance group (0.28 ± 0.71) (p = 0.01). The residual postoperative excyclotorsion (> 1) were observed in the disaccordance group (14 patients, 50%) and accordance group (16 patients, 22.9%) (p = 0.01).ConclusionPreoperative disaccordance between excyclotorsion and the paretic eye was observed in patients who were under 2 years of age and preferred fixation of the paretic eye. The postoperative degree of excyclotorsion was lower in the accordance group.

Hypopituitarism and cranial nerve involvement mimicking Tolosa-Hunt syndrome as the initially presenting feature of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a case report

BackgroundEarly diagnosis of lymphoma involving the central nervous system is sometimes difficult but emergent to avoid the delay of therapeutic initiation. Pituitary insufficiencies are usually associated with lymphoma in the pituitary gland. There have been no cases of lymphoma originating from extra pituitary gland with hypopituitarism that simultaneously presenting unilateral upper cranial nerve palsies and ophthalmalgia. These symptoms are mostly caused by neoplastic involvement of the skull base or benign diseases such as Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS). We report a case of lymphoma with unique clinical courses initially presenting hypopituitarism and symptoms mimicking THS with a mass in sphenoidal and cavernous sinuses accompanying sphenoidal bone erosion.Case presentation.A 71-year-old woman visited our hospital with left ophthalmalgia, ptosis, and diplopia. Neurological findings revealed left oculomotor, trochlear and abducent nerve palsies. Endocrine tests indicated partial hypopituitarism. Initial CT and MRI revealed that a mass in sphenoidal and cavernous sinuses had invaded the sella with osteolysis of the sphenoid bone. At around four weeks, almost all the symptoms of cranial nerve palsies were relieved. Seven weeks later, she had a high fever and cervical lymph node (CLN) swellings. CLN biopsy revealed CD20-positive B-cells. She was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) revealed elevated uptake at the erosion lesion of the sphenoidal bone, but not the pituitary gland. After chemotherapy, all the symptoms related to systemic lymphoma were relieved, but partial hypopituitarism remained. The mass in sphenoidal and cavernous sinuses and elevated uptake by PET/CT were dissolved.ConclusionThis case of DLBCL had a unique clinical course; initial presentation of hypopituitarism and symptoms mimicking THS. There was also rare demonstration of mass lesions related to DLBCL in the sphenoidal and cavernous sinuses compressing the pituitary gland through an eroded area of the sphenoidal bone. It should be clinically cautioned that DLBCL can be associated with erosion of the sphenoidal bone and cause both hypopituitarism and THS-mimicking symptoms.

Trochlear Nerve Palsy Caused by a Superior Cerebellar Artery Aneurysm

Purpose: We report a case of trochlear nerve palsy caused by a superior cerebellar artery (SCA) aneurysm.Case summary: A 34-year-old woman visited our clinic complaining of distance diplopia and a temporal headache 7 days in duration. She had no previous relevant medical or trauma history. Her visual acuity; intraocular pressure; and pupil, anterior segment, and fundus evaluations were unremarkable. Extraocular muscle examination (EOM) revealed six prism diopters (PD) of right hypertropia in the primary gaze; this worsened when the head was tilted to the right. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a round solid nodule between the temporal lobe and pons; we thus suspected a petrous ridge meningioma. She was referred to our neurosurgery department for meningioma treatment. However, 1 hour later, she visited our emergency room with severe headache and nausea. Brain computed tomography angiography revealed a subarachnoid hemorrhage and a ruptured SCA aneurysm. Emergency coil embolization was successfully performed. Four weeks after surgery, the right hypertropia was slightly decreased. Four months later, the diplopia had disappeared and EOM revealed orthotropia.Conclusions: SCA aneurysms are rare and can be misdiagnosed even after radiological examination. Our case emphasizes that an SCA aneurysm should be considered during the differential diagnosis of patients with diplopia and headache.

Modified Harada-Ito Procedure with Intraoperative Adjustable Sutures Using a Mendez Ring for Excyclotorsion

Purpose: We report a case of using a modified Harada-Ito procedure with intraoperative adjustment via a Mendez ring in a patient with bilateral superior oblique palsy, resulting in satisfactory postoperative outcomes.Case summary: A 47-year-old male patient presented with bilateral diplopia after cerebral hemorrhage. Bilateral superior oblique palsy was diagnosed, and double Maddox rod tests confirmed 20° of excyclotorsion in both eyes. After 6 months of observation, surgical correction was attempted. To check the amount of cyclodeviation, a modified Harada–Ito procedure was performed on the superior oblique muscle after marking at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions of the corneal limbus. Following the procedure, a Mendez ring was placed on the limbus to check for the amount of incyclotorsion. Thirty degrees of incyclotorsion was aimed at both eyes, and a 5-mm resection of the right superior oblique tendon was performed for additional correction. There was no complaint of diplopia at 6 months postoperatively, and no deviation was observed.Conclusions: A modified Harada-Ito procedure with intraoperative adjustment using a Mendez ring effectively corrected excyclotorsion with torsional diplopia.

OCULOMOTOR DEFICIT IN MILD TRAUMATIC HEAD INJURY AN INSTITUTIONAL STUDY

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic head injury can be mild causing a bump, laceration or contusion with or without a disturbance of conciousness. It can be a moderate or severe injury depending upon clinical parameters of Post traumatic Amnesia (PTA) and/or a disturbence of Conciousness and Presenting GCS . Oculomotor decit following mild Head Injury can be Considered in checklist while discharging the Patients, as it is one of the commonest and important symptoms experienced by them. Several Studies have shown in Populations with contusions and neuronal injury that vision and eye movements are closely tied to the functionality of the Brain. In our Study we found 31 patients out of 178 having changes in visuomotor Performances. Optimal management of Patients that is used based on the type of injury and ndings according to institutional Protocol. Most of the oculomotor Symptoms improved with Conservative management via regular follow-up. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To Study the frequency and various types of visuomotor decit in mild traumatic head injury, its co-relation and further evaluation on the resolution of visual abnormalities in patients after 3 months. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study design is prospective and was conducted between January and December 2021 at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital. The data of 178 patients were collected in the mentioned hospital and evaluation was done during the discharge and followup after 3 months. The signicance test was carried out using Pearson's Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact Test were conducted. RESULT: It was found by Pearson's Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact Test that the number of patients having oculomotor abnormalities in mild traumatic head injury is signicant (P&lt;0.005). Moreover, 74.19% of patients showing oculomotor abnormalities had no Extraocular muscle abnormalities during discharge which increased to 93.54% and the rest 6.45% of patients showed partial improvement. No patient was found to have 4th nerve palsy, 83.87% of OM (patients with oculomotor abnormalities) patients had no 3rd nerve palsy during discharge which increased to 93.54%. CONCLUSION: the study concluded that there is a signicant number of mild traumatic head injury patients with visual abnormalities which can be resolved effectively by conservative management within 3 months. It is suggested that more follow-up and research required for more prompt treatments.

Prisms in the treatment of diplopia with strabismus of various etiologies.

Purpose:We aimed to study the success of prism in regard to diplopia resolution score and associated factors in patients presenting with symptomatic diplopia arising from various etiologies.Methods:In this descriptive, retrospective study diplopia resolution among 31 patients who were prescribed prism were analyzed.Results:Fifty-four patients were evaluated for diplopia and 31 were included for the study done over 3 years. The mean follow-up was 15 months. Esotropia, exotropia, and hypertropia were seen in 39%, 51%, and 19.4% of patients, respectively. Furthermore, 71% received Fresnel prism and 29% were given ground glass prism. The mean prism power prescribed was 13.3 PD. 87% had complete resolution of diplopia; 96.8% continued usage of prism. High success rates were seen among patients with decompensated strabismus, sixth and fourth nerve palsy. Horizontal prism and oblique prism in the form of Fresnel prism yielded complete resolution of diplopia (P = 0.028). There was no association between the success of prism and etiology (P 0.058), history of trauma (P = 0.212), and type of deviation (P = 0.387). The study showed that oblique Fresnel prism can be considered for combined deviation.Conclusion:Our study showed prism to be effective in alleviating diplopia over a varied range of etiologies.

Spontaneous Recovery of Traumatic Unilateral Superior Oblique Palsy and Ocular Factors for Predicting Prognosis.

PurposeThis study evaluated the prognosis of patients with traumatic unilateral superior oblique palsy (SOP) and clinical factors associated with spontaneous resolution.MethodsMedical records of patients with traumatic unilateral SOP who visited two hospitals (Yeungnam University Hospital and Daegu Catholic University Medical Center) between January 2015 and June 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. When traumatic unilateral SOP did not recover within at least 1 year of follow-up, no spontaneous resolution was considered. Both traumatic and ocular factors were evaluated to evaluate their association with spontaneous recovery.ResultsFifty-nine patients (mean age, 52.6 years; 48 male patients) were enrolled in this study. The mean interval from trauma to initial presentation was 3.9 months. The mean vertical deviation at initial presentation was 6.34 ± 5.22 prism diopters (PD) (range, 0–25 PD). During the mean 24.1-month follow-up period, 28 patients (47.5%) achieved spontaneous resolution of SOP. Thirteen patients underwent surgical treatment for SOP. Vertical deviation <6 PD at the initial visit and low fundus torsion in the nonparetic eye and both eyes were significantly associated with spontaneous recovery (p < 0.05, logistic regression analysis). Traumatic factors, including the trauma type, presence of intracranial lesion, loss of consciousness, and Glasgow Coma Scale score, were not associated with spontaneous recovery.ConclusionsIn this multicenter study, spontaneously recovery was achieved in 47.5% patients with traumatic unilateral SOP. Even mild head trauma can lead to permanent SOP. Ocular factors, including the angle of deviation and fundus torsion, may better predict spontaneous resolution than traumatic factors in patients with traumatic unilateral SOP.

Strabismus outcomes after surgery: the nationwide SOS France study.

To describe the types of strabismus operated on, the surgical procedures performed, and the 2-year reoperation rate in France. Entire population 5-year cross-sectional analysis of a national medico-administrative database in France between January 2013 and December 2017 included all patients who underwent a first strabismus surgery, with a 2-year follow-up. Patient identification was based on the diagnostic codes of the 10th International Classification of Diseases and surgical procedures on the codes of the Common Classification of Medical Acts. A subgroup analysis comparing non-paralytic and paralytic strabismus was performed. Among the 56,654 patients included (women: 50.8%), 26,892 (47.5%) patients were under 10years old. Overall, 52,711 (93%) were diagnosed with non-paralytic strabismus and 3,943 (7%) with paralytic strabismus. Among the non-paralytics, the most frequent diagnosis was esotropia (21,282, 37.6%), followed by exotropia (14,392, 25.4%) and vertical strabismus (2,017, 3.6%). Among the paralytics, fourth cranial nerve palsy (1,499, 2.6%) was more frequent than sixth cranial nerve palsy (691, 1.2%) and third cranial nerve palsy (431, 0.8%). The 2-year reoperation rate was 7.7% (4,362 patients), the lowest for non-paralytic (7.4%) and the highest for paralytic (11.4%). This first French population-based study about strabismus will contribute to the evaluation of practices at a national level and permit comparisons between countries. Although the 2-year reoperation rate was found to be 1 out of 13 patients, it should be interpreted with caution. Long-term follow-up is still warranted due to considerable variability of the type and severity of strabismus as well as surgical practices.

Annals of Neurology: Volume 91, Number 1, January 2022

A fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET image fused to an MRI scan of a patient with a left superior oblique palsy. He fixated with the paretic left eye, which caused continuous activation of the left inferior rectus muscle to compensate for the left hypertropia. This can be seen as a hot spot (red) in the inferior medial left orbit. See Li and colleagues, pages 160–161 in this issue, for details.

Association between metabolic syndrome and incidence of ocular motor nerve palsy

To assess the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the development of third, fourth, and sixth cranial nerve palsy (CNP). Health checkup data of 4,067,842 individuals aged between 20 and 90 years provided by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) of South Korea between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009, were analyzed. Participants were followed up to December 31, 2017. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of CNP were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis after adjusting for potential confounders. Model 1 included only incident CNP as a time-varying covariate. Model 2 included model 1 and individual’s age and sex. Model 3 included model 2, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and physical activity of individuals. We identified 5,835 incident CNP cases during the follow-up period (8.22 ± 0.94 years). Individuals with MetS (n = 851,004) showed an increased risk of CNP compared to individuals without MetS (n = 3,216,838) after adjustment (model 3: HR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.273–1.434). CNP incidence was positively correlated with the number of MetS components (log-rank p < 0.0001). The HR of CNP for males with MetS compared to males without MetS was higher than that of females with MetS compared to females without MetS (HR: 1.407, 95% CI 1.31–1.51 in men and HR: 1.259, 95% CI 1.13–1.40 in women, p for interaction = 0.0017). Our population-based large-scale cohort study suggests that MetS and its components might be risk factors for CNP development.

A long-term survival case with proton beam therapy for advanced sphenoid sinus cancer with hypopituitarism

Sphenoid sinus malignancies are rare diseases. Secondary hypopituitarism associated with sphenoid sinus malignancy is not well known. A 41-year-old male complained of right ptosis. Neurological findings revealed right oculomotor, trochlear and glossopharyngeal nerve palsy. Imaging diagnosis suggested a tumor that had spread bilaterally from the sphenoid sinus to the ethmoid sinus, nasopharynx and posterior pharyngeal space. Biopsy revealed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Based on these findings, a clinical diagnosis of SCC of the sphenoid sinus was made. Removal of the tumor without damaging nearby organs would have been difficult because the tumor extended to the bilateral optic nerves, optic chiasma and internal carotid artery, and surgeons, therefore, recommended proton beam therapy (PBT). Before PBT, the hypopituitarism occurred in the patient and we administered hydrocortisone and levothyroxine. During treating for hypopituitarism, we performed PBT with nedaplatin and 5-fluorouracil. The daily PBT fractions were 2.2 relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for the tumor received total dose of 81.4 Gy RBE. The acute side effect of grade 2 dermatitis according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. Occurred after PBT. The patient needs to take hydrocortisone and levothyroxine, but he remains in complete remission 8 years after treatment without surgery or chemotherapy. Visual function is gradually declining, but there is no evidence of severe radiation-induced optic neuropathy.

Torsional incomitance after asymmetrically adjusted Harada-Ito procedures for the simultaneous correction of vertical and torsional deviations in bilateral trochlear nerve palsy

Adjustable bilateral Harada-Ito procedures have been described, sometimes with asymmetric adjustment used to correct vertical misalignment when coexisting with torsional strabismus. We investigated the causes of significant postoperative torsional incomitance noted in some patients undergoing these procedures. The medical records of patients who underwent bilateral Harada-Ito procedures for bilateral trochlear nerve palsy between 1980 and 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. Cases with simultaneous operation on any other oblique or vertical rectus muscle were excluded. Surgical results, especially using Lancaster red-green (Lan R-G) plots, were correlated with the procedures performed. A total of 17 patients were included. At their last follow-up visit (mean, 12 months after surgery), 9 were diplopia free. Of the 8 with continuing diplopia, 2 had undercorrection and 1 had Brown syndrome. In 5 patients with continuing diplopia, there was relative intorsion of the eye movement paths in upgaze and relative extorsion of these paths in downgaze, a type of torsional incomitance. Asymmetric adjustment with tightening of one superior oblique tendon, and often loosening of the contralateral superior oblique tendon, had been performed in those 5 cases. Only 1 of the successful cases had the same type of asymmetric adjustment. There was a positive association between the severity of the preoperative Lan R-G pattern and postoperative diplopia. Asymmetric adjustment of bilateral Harada-Ito procedures when attempting to correct the coexisting vertical misalignment can cause significant torsional incomitance with incomplete correction of extorsion in downgaze and intorsion in upgaze. This pattern may result in postoperative diplopia that is surgically challenging to correct.

Effectiveness of Inferior Oblique Myectomy in Unilateral Superior Oblique Palsy Depending on Magnitude of Hyperdeviation

Purpose: To evaluate surgical outcome and effectiveness of inferior oblique (IO) myectomy on unilateral superior oblique palsy (SOP) as a primary treatment.Methods: This study is a retrospective review of the medical records of 99 patients who had undergone IO myectomy due to SOP as a first-line treatment. Sixty-five patients with hyperdeviation of 15 prism diopters (PD) or less were categorized into group 1, 22 patients with hyperdeviation between 16 PD to 20 PD into group 2, and 12 patients with hyperdeviation higher than 20 PD into group 3. Preoperative hyperdeviation, postoperative hyperdeviation, and improvement of head tilting were then compared between the 3 groups. Surgery was determined to be successful when the post-op residual hyperdeviation is less than 5 PD, or when the improvement of hyperdeviation and head tilting was noted, for the patients who had preoperative deviation less than 5 PD, and without hypercorrection.Results: All groups showed significant improvement of hyperdeviation, and the amount of correction was larger in group with larger preoperative hyperdeviation. 80.3%, 95.0%, and 90.9% of patients showed improvement of head tiling and success rate was 87.7%, 77.3%, and 50.0% in group 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Group 1 and 2, group 2 and 3 had no significant difference in success rate but only group 1 and 3 had significant difference.Conclusions: Considering success rate with improvement of head position, self-titrating and possibility of overcorrection, IO myectomy could be an effective option as a first-line surgical treatment for unilateral SOP with hyperdeviation of 20 PD or less. However, due to a 50% success rate in patients with hyperdeviation larger than 20 PD, a secondary operation must be considered following IO myectomy, or a two-muscle procedure must be considered as a primary treatment.

Types of Surgery Performed and Reoperation Rate for Congenital Superior Oblique Palsy: a Claims Database Study.

To investigate types of surgeries performed to treat a presumed congenital superior oblique palsy (SOP) and the reoperation rate. This was a population-based retrospective cohort study using claims data from the United States. Patients who underwent strabismus surgery for a presumed congenital SOP with ≥ 3 months of continuous enrolment after the initial surgery were included. We investigated age, surgical methods and the time interval between the initial surgery and reoperation. The hazard ratios for reoperation were estimated according to the surgical methods using Cox regression analysis. A total of 3,998 patients underwent surgery for presumed congenital SOP; 2,981 (74.6%) on only one vertical muscle (excluding superior oblique). Reoperation was performed on 427 patients (10.7%). Compared to patients who underwent unilateral surgery on one vertical muscle (excluding superior oblique muscle), patients who underwent surgery that included the superior oblique muscle (unilateral 2.08; 95% CI, 1.61-2.67, p < 0.001; bilateral 2.44; 95% CI, 1.40-4.28, p = 0.002) and two or more vertical muscles (excluding the superior oblique muscle) (unilateral 2.99; 95% CI, 2.00-4.49, p < 0.001; bilateral 1.68; 95% CI, 1.23-2.28, p = 0.001) had increased hazard ratios for reoperation. The median period between the initial surgery and reoperation was 168.0 [Q1-Q3 84.0-407.8] days and negatively correlated with patient age at initial surgery (r = -0.199, p < 0.001). The reoperation rate for presumed congenital SOP was 10.7%. Patients who underwent surgery on two or more vertical muscles or the superior oblique muscle had an increased risk of reoperation.

Clinical Characteristics for Predicting Recovery of Acquired Fourth Cranial Nerve Palsy.

Fourth cranial nerve palsy is the most common disease diagnosed in patients with vertical diplopia. Although it is reported to present a good prognosis, there are currently no agreed on prognostic factors that anticipate the recovery of the palsy other than the etiology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic factors of acquired fourth cranial nerve palsy. The medical records of consecutive patients diagnosed with acquired unilateral fourth cranial nerve palsy from 2010 to 2020 and followed up for ≥6 months were retrospectively reviewed. The cause and degree of palsy, ocular deviation (horizontal, vertical, and cyclo), and fundus torsion were reviewed. The cause of palsy was classified as ischemic, traumatic, intracranial mass, others, or idiopathic. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to palsy recovery: complete recovery (group CR) or not CR (group NCR). The clinical characteristics of the 2 groups were compared, and the risk factors for incomplete recovery were investigated. Thirty-five patients (25 men) were included in the study. The average age was 55.94 ± 16.11 years. CR was achieved in 23 patients (65.7%), and the time to recovery was 3.91 ± 4.03 months. The most common cause was traumatic (40.0%), followed by ischemia (37.1%), intracranial mass (11.4%), others (8.6%), and idiopathic (2.9%). The degree of palsy and fundus torsion was significantly higher in group NCR (P = 0.010 and P = 0.001). Severe oculomotor limitation, large fundus torsion, and intracranial mass cause rather than ischemic cause indicated a higher risk of incomplete or no recovery (P = 0.016, P = 0.009, and P = 0.043). Identifying whether a patient has an intracranial mass, severe oculomotor limitation, or large fundus excyclotorsion may be useful for predicting the recovery of acquired unilateral fourth cranial nerve palsy.

Analysis of Early Neuroimaging Results in Patients with Acute Isolated Ocular Motor Nerve Palsy

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of early neuroimaging in patients with acute isolated 3rd, 4th, and 6th nerve palsy.Methods: Neuroimaging tests were performed in patients &gt;50 years old with acute isolated 3rd, 4th, and 6th nerve palsy. The frequencies and types of abnormal findings were evaluated. All patients were divided into ischemic and non-ischemic groups and differences in clinical characteristics between groups were analyzed.Results: Of the 55 patients, nine (16.4%) had abnormal findings on brain imaging. Among 26 patients with 6th nerve palsy, four (15.4%) were found to have a cause including brain tumor, cerebrovascular compression, carotid cavernous fistula. Superior oblique muscle atrophy was found in two of 19 patients (10.5%) with 4th nerve palsy. Three of 10 patients (30%) with 3rd nerve palsy had abnormal findings and there were cases of pituitary apoplexy, posterior communicating, and cerebrovascular compression.Conclusions: In patients with acute isolated oculomotor paralysis, early neuroimaging tests play an important role in differential diagnosis and evaluation of causes that may lead to mortality.

English

BACKGROUND Neuro-ophthalmology deals with complex systemic diseases that affect the visual system and pose a challenge for ophthalmologists. Here the focus is on the diseases of the nervous system that affect vision, ocular motility, or pupillary reflexes. Diplopia, a common symptom of cranial nerve palsy, may result from ophthalmic, orbital, or neurologic disorders. Our study intended to determine the aetiology of ocular motor nerve palsies. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted for two years at a tertiary care centre in South India. We evaluated 30 patients who came to the Ophthalmology OPD or were admitted, after obtaining the approval of the Ethics committee. RESULTS A total number of 30 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were studied. There were 14 male and 16 female patients. The age range was 12 - 87 years with a mean age of 45 years. The highest incidence noticed was isolated sixth nerve palsy in 13 (43.3 %) patients. 11 patients had isolated third nerve palsy (36.7 %), while mixed ocular motor nerve palsies (third, fourth and sixth) were seen in 6 patients (20 %). None of them had isolated fourth nerve palsy. CONCLUSIONS  The sixth nerve continued to be the most common among the ocular motor nerve palsies. Meningitis was the major cause.  Diabetes and trauma, infections with CNS inflammation accounted for a majority of third nerve palsies.  Multiple cranial nerve palsies had varied aetiology like HIV Infection, Tolosa Hunt Syndrome, aneurysm of intracavernous part of ICA, cavernous sinus thrombosis and trauma.  The patient’s age, associated symptoms, clinical features and types of palsy are of great importance to choose appropriate radiological methods to study and treat these isolated cranial nerve palsies. KEY WORDS Diabetes, Meningitis, Oculomotor Nerve, Trochlear Nerve, Abducent Nerve, Trauma

Vertical Comitance of Hypertropia in Congenital and Acquired Superior Oblique Palsy.

Ivanir and Trobe have claimed that hypertropia (HT) that is greater in upgaze than downgaze, or equal to it, is characteristic of decompensated congenital superior oblique (SO) palsy and never present in ischemic, traumatic, or tumorous SO palsy. The reliability of this claim was tested in patients with SO palsy confirmed by MRI demonstration of subnormal ipsilesional SO size. Quasi-coronal, surface coil MRI was performed in target-controlled central gaze to identify patients with a unilateral reduction in SO cross section indicative of palsy. Nine patients gave an unequivocal history or had markedly increased vertical fusional amplitudes indicative of congenital onset (mean age 38 ± 16 years, SD). Seven patients had unequivocal acquired onset (age 47 ± 14 years and symptom duration 5.4 ± 4.8 years), including 2 with demonstrated trochlear Schwannoma and 5 with onset after severe head trauma. Fifteen patients had gradually progressive onset unequivocally not congenital yet not associated with any identifiable precipitating event (age 52 ± 20 years and symptom duration 13 ± 14 years). Maximum SO cross section averaged 8.6 ± 3.9 mm2 in congenital palsy, not significantly different from 11.3 ± 3.5 mm2 in acquired palsy (P = 0.08) either unequivocally or progressively acquired, but significantly less than about 19 mm2 contralesionally in SO palsy (P < 10-4). Although mean central gaze HT was greater at 20.6 ± 8.0Δ in 9 cases of congenital than that in 22 acquired cases at 11.4 ± 6.8Δ (P = 0.002), HT was 8.4 ± 16.3Δ less in upgaze than downgaze in congenital SO palsy and 3.7 ± 11.2Δ less in acquired SO palsy. In congenital palsy, 33% of patients had HT greater in upgaze than downgaze while in 67% HT was greater in downgaze (by up to 42Δ). In acquired SO palsy, HT was greater in upgaze than downgaze or equal to it in 8 cases (36%, P = 0.87, X2). In acquired SO palsy, HT was greater in upgaze than downgaze in 37% and greater in downgaze than upgaze in 59% of cases. The HT was equal in upgaze and centralgaze in no congenital and 3 acquired cases of SO palsy. Trends were similar in unequivocal acquired and progressive acquired (noncongenital) SO palsy (P > 0.4). Hypertropia is not characteristically greater in upgaze than downgaze in congenital SO palsy proven by SO atrophy on MRI. In fact, average HT is greater in downgaze than upgaze in both acquired and congenital palsy, sometimes strikingly so in the latter. The finding of HT greater in upgaze than downgaze, or equal to it, does not reliably indicate that SO palsy is congenital, nor does maximum SO cross section.

Special features of superior oblique hypofunction due to tendon abnormalities

ABSTRACT While most cases of superior oblique (SO) hypofunction represent contractile weakness due to denervation, sometimes the lesion is exclusively in the tendon. This study sought to distinguish the pattern of incomitant strabismus caused by deficiency of SO oculorotary force caused by tendon abnormalities versus that of neurogenic palsy. Clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of 7 cases of unilateral SO tendon interruption or extirpation were compared with 11 cases of age matched unilateral SO palsy having intact tendons. We compared angles of misalignment with high-resolution MRI in central gaze and deorsumversion. Muscle bellies in neurogenic palsy were markedly atrophic with maximal cross sections averaging 6.5 ± 2.7 mm2, in contrast with 13.5 ± 3.0 mm2 contralesionally (P < .0001). In contrast, SO muscle bellies ipsilateral to tendon interruption had maximum cross sections averaging 15.1 ± 3.0 mm2 occurring more posterior than on the contralesional side whose maximum averaged 12.1 ± 2.4 mm2. While cross sections of SO bellies ipsilateral to tendon interruption exhibited normal contractile increase in infraduction (P < .0005), there was nevertheless strabismus with incomitance similar to that in SO atrophy. Binocular alignment was statistically similar (P > .5) in the two groups for all diagnostic positions, including head tilt, except in deorsumversion, where cases with SO tendon abnormalities averaged 20.5 ± 6.9Δ ipsilateral hypertropia, significantly more than 8.5 ± 6.6Δ in neurogenic SO atrophy (P = .001). The average difference in hypertropia Hypertropia averaged 9D greater in deorsumversion than central gaze in tendon abnormalities, but 4.1Δ less in SO atrophy (P< .019). In contralesional version, average overelevation in adduction was 1.7 (scale of 0–4) in tendon abnormalities, and 2.6 in SO atrophy (P = .23), while average underdepression in adduction was −2.3 in cases of tendon abnormalities and −1.6 in SO atrophy (P = .82). Repair of the SO tendon in three cases was effective, while alternative procedures were performed when repair was infeasible. While both denervation and tendon interruption impair SO oculorotary function, interruption causes greater hypertropia in infraversion. Surgical tightening of interrupted SO tendons may have particularly gratifying effects. Posterior SO thickening and large hypertropia in infraversion suggest SO tendon interruption that may guide a surgical strategy of tendon repair.

Quadriparesis secondary to cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: Rare cause of acute flaccid weakness

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) presents with headache, seizures, focal deficits, altered consciousness and papilledema. False localising sign in the form of sixth cranial nerve palsy is commonly seen. Other cranial nerve palsies reported in CVST are oculomotor, facial, trigeminal and trochlear nerve palsies. Polyradiculopathy if seen, is in the form of reduced deep tendon reflexes (DTR), however dense quadriparesis with trunk and neck involvement and areflexia is rarely seen.