Horner's syndrome with abducens nerve palsy

Nationwide population-based incidence and etiologies of pediatric and adult Horner syndrome

PURPOSE

To determine age- and sex-specific incidence and possible etiologies of pediatric and adult Horner syndrome in South Korea.

METHODS

A nationwide, population-based, cohort study using data from the Korean National Health Claims database from 2007 to 2018. All patients with Horner syndrome from the entire Korean population (n = 51,629,512) were included. To find possible causes of Horner syndrome, we searched concurrent codes for systemic diseases, trauma, or surgical procedures.

RESULTS

A total of 139 pediatric patients (59.7% male) and 1331 adults (51.0% male) were newly diagnosed as having Horner syndrome. The cumulative incidence was 2.12 (95% CI 2.08-2.17) per 100,000 pediatric population and 2.95 (2.94-2.96) per 100,000 adults. The peak incidence occurred at 0-4 years of age in the pediatric population, and at 50-54 years in the adult population. A total of 835 (56.8%) patients had underlying conditions or related surgical procedures associated with Horner syndrome. The underlying causes were recognized in 695 (83.2%) patients before the diagnosis of Horner syndrome, in 75 (9.0%) patients at the same time as the Horner syndrome diagnosis, and in 65 (7.8%) patients after the diagnosis of Horner syndrome. There were four cases of Horner syndrome that preceded neuroblastoma diagnosis. The most common tumor related with Horner syndrome was that of the thyroid in the adult population.

CONCLUSIONS

This study determined the estimated incidence and possible causes of pediatric and adult Horner syndrome. As Horner syndrome with unknown etiologies may harbor serious malignancy, extensive evaluations are required, especially in children.

Ophthalmic and orbital considerations in the evaluation of skull base malignancies

INTRODUCTION

The orbital contents, afferent and efferent visual pathways, and the cranial nerves involved in eye movement, corneal sensation and eyelid closure traverse the skull base, a region bounded by the intracranial cavity, the paranasal sinuses, and the deep spaces of the face and head. As such, tumors from above or below have potential to affect some aspect of the visual system.

METHODS

We discuss here the clinical ophthalmologic and orbital considerations in the evaluation of patients with these tumors, as well as the ophthalmic sequelae of treatment with radiation or surgery (or both). And for the surgeon, we discuss the ophthalmic and orbital considerations in surgical planning, the role of the orbital surgeon in skull base surgery, and briefly discuss transorbital approaches to the skull base.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Ophthalmic and orbital dysfunction may be the main source of disability in patients with skull base malignancy; it is thus incumbent on those who manage patients with tumors of this region to be aware of the ophthalmic, neuro-ophthalmic and orbital manifestations, so as to best tailor therapy and monitor treatment outcomes.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma presenting as a sixth nerve palsy and Horner's syndrome

The combination of a sixth nerve palsy and ipsilateral Horner's syndrome localises the disease process to the posterior cavernous sinus and can be a result of various pathologies in this region. A 74-year-old Chinese woman presented with a 9-month history of binocular horizontal diplopia worse when looking left. She was found to have a left sixth nerve palsy and Horner's syndrome and MRI revealed an enhancing soft tissue mass in the nasopharynx with involvement of the bones of the skull base and invasion of the left cavernous sinus. Endoscopic biopsy of the mass confirmed the diagnosis of non-keratinising squamous cell carcinoma, which was Epstein-Barr virus positive. She was treated with radiation therapy. Patients with a sixth nerve palsy and ipsilateral Horner's syndrome should have urgent neuroimaging with careful attention to the cavernous sinus since sympathetic fibres join the sixth nerve for a short distance in this location.

Unilateral Abducens Nerve Palsy with Ipsilateral Horner's Syndrome as an Initial Manifestation of Recurrent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

A 62-year-old man was admitted to our clinic with a two-week history of double vision. Neuro-ophthalmological examination showed a left abducens nerve palsy with an ipsilateral Horner's syndrome. Neuro-imaging identified recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma explaining the clinical findings. Co-existence of unilateral abducens nerve palsy and ipsilateral Horner's syndrome is very rare and localises to the posterior cavernous sinus. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of this rare co-existence and perform appropriate neuro-imaging to clarify the underlying aetiology.

Sixth nerve palsy + ipsilateral Horner's Syndrome = Parkinson's Syndrome

PURPOSE

To present five patients with VIth nerve palsy and ipsilateral Horner's Syndrome (HS), as a result of cavernous sinus alteration.

STUDY DESIGN

Consecutive case series.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Five patients presented abducens palsy with horizontal diplopia (3 in primary position and 2 in lateral gaze only) and ipsilateral HS. Apraclonidine 0.5% drops evidenced sympathetic denervation in all patients 40-60 min after instillation. All 5 cases had neuroimages (MRI in 3 cases, Computerized Tomography - CT in one case and Magnetic Resonance Angiography - MRA in one case) demonstrating cavernous sinus lesions; 2 meningiomas, 1 carotid-cavernous aneurism, 1 foreign body (bullet) and 1 squamous cell carcinoma.

CONCLUSION

Lesions on the cavernous sinus need to be considered in cases of abducens nerve palsy and ipsilateral Horner's Syndrome.

Horner's syndrome and contralateral abducens nerve palsy associated with zoster meningitis

A 55-year-old woman presented with diplopia following painful skin eruptions on the right upper extremity. On presentation, she was found to have 35 prism diopters of esotropia and an abduction limitation in the left eye. Two weeks later, she developed blepharoptosis and anisocoria with a smaller pupil in the right eye, which increased in the darkness. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed pleocytosis and a positive result for immunoglobulin G antibody to varicella zoster virus. She was diagnosed to have zoster meningitis with Horner's syndrome and contralateral abducens nerve palsy. After intravenous antiviral and steroid treatments, the vesicular eruptions and abducens nerve palsy improved. Horner's syndrome and diplopia resolved after six months. Here we present the first report of Horner's syndrome and contralateral abducens nerve palsy associated with zoster meningitis.

Neuro-ophthalmology Annual Review

PURPOSE

To provide a clinical update of the neuro-ophthalmology literature over the last twelve months.

DESIGN

This is an annual review of current literature from August 1, 2011 to August 1, 2012.

METHODS

The authors conducted a one year English language neuro-ophthalmology literature search using PubMed from August 1, 2011 to August 1, 2012 using the following search terms: pupil abnormalities, eye movements, diseases of muscle and musculoskeletal junction, optic nerve disorders, optic neuritis and multiple sclerosis, chiasm and posterior primary visual pathway lesions, increased intracranial pressure and related entities, tumors (e.g., meningioma) and aneurysm affecting the visual pathways, vascular diseases, higher visual functions, advances in neuroimaging, and miscellaneous topics in neuro-ophthalmology. The authors included original articles, review articles, and case reports, which revealed the new aspects and updates in neuro-ophthalmology. Letters to the editor, unpublished work, and abstracts were not included in this annual literature review. We propose to update the practicing clinical ophthalmologist on the most clinically relevant literature from the past year. However, this review is not meant to be all-inclusive and highlights only the literature most applicable to the practicing clinical ophthalmologist.

RESULTS

We reviewed the literature over the past year in neuro-ophthalmology of potential interest and relevance to the comprehensive ophthalmologist.

CONCLUSION

This annual review provides a brief update on a number of neuroophthalmic conditions that might be of interest to the practicing clinical ophthalmologist.