PALSIES OF THE OCULAR MOTOR NERVES IN DIA BETES-MELLITUS - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF 44 CASES

Data from the clinical charts of 44 diabetic patients with oculomotor palsy were studied. The sixt cranial nerve was involved in 55 p. 100 o f cases, the third in 39 p. 100 and the fourth in 6 p. 100 of cases. F orty three patients had type II diabetes mellitus ; in 19 the oculomot or palsy revealed diabetes, while in 25 patients diabetes mellitus had been diagnosed for 9,5 +/- 6,2 years. The oculomotor palsy resolved w ithin an average of 93 days on average (range 156 - 39 days). Twenty e ight patients had arterial hypertension and 23 ischemic cardiopathy of peripheral arteriopathy. There appeared to be no correlation between oculomotor palsy and the quality of glycemia control, renal function, the presence of diabetic retinopathy, or other diabetic neurological c omplications.