BILATERAL INTRAAXIAL OCULARMOTOR PALSY - 2 CASES

Bilateral palsy of the common ocular motornerve (III) was observed in two patients with an intra-axial lesion due ti hemorrahge in one and i schemia in the other. The lesions involved the cerebral peduncle in th e periaqueductal region and the nuclear complex of the III in the firs t case. Bilateral infarct of the thalamus was seen in the second. Clin ical manifestations were transitory except for the oculormotor impairm ent. In the first patient, oculomotricity was dissociated as intrinsic motricity was spared. These exceptional cases demonstrate a syndrome with unique oculomotor expression resulting from intra-axial oculomoto r lesions. Prognosis varies and is related to the ischemic or hemorrha gic nature of the causal lesion and its localization.