Neuro-ophthalmology Illustrated Chapter 13 Diplopia 9 – Internuclear & Supranuclear Lesions

Questions:
115. A patient has a deficit of adduction of the one eye, nystagmus of the fellow abducting eye, skew deviation and the adduction deficit is overcome with convergence. What condition is present?
116. A patient has a deficit of adduction of the one eye, nystagmus of the fellow abducting eye, skew deviation and the adduction deficit is overcome with convergence. Where is the lesion?
117. What are 4 findings of a unilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia?
118. A patient has a deficit of adduction of both eyes, nystagmus of the fellow abducting eye, exotropia, and loss of convergence. What condition is present?
119. Where is the lesion located in wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO)?
120. A patient has the following findings: a gaze palsy to one side, and on attempted gaze to the opposite side impaired adduction and nystagmus of the abducting eye. In addition, the patient has a facial palsy on the side with the gaze palsy. What syndrome is present?
121. Where is the lesion in the One-and-a-Half Syndrome?
122. What are 2 common causes of isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia?
123. What conditions may mimic an isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia?
124. What conditions may mimic the one-and-a-half syndrome?

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Questions with answers:
115. A patient has a deficit of adduction of the one eye, nystagmus of the fellow abducting eye, skew deviation and the adduction deficit is overcome with convergence. What condition is present?
These are signs of a unilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia.

116. A patient has a deficit of adduction of the one eye, nystagmus of the fellow abducting eye, skew deviation and the adduction deficit is overcome with convergence. Where is the lesion?
An internuclear ophthalmoplegia results from injury to the medial longitudinal fasciculus within the dorsomedial pontine or midbrain tegmentum.

117. What are 4 findings of a unilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia?
1. Deficit of adduction (slowing of adducting saccades) ipsilateral to the lesion
2. Nystagmus of the contralateral abducting eye
3. Skew deviation may be present
4. Convergence may overcome the adduction deficit

118. A patient has a deficit of adduction of both eyes, nystagmus of the fellow abducting eye, exotropia, and loss of convergence. What condition is present?
This patient has wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO).

119. Where is the lesion located in wall-eyed bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (WEBINO)?
A rostral lesion within the midbrain may affect the convergence center and bilateral medial longitudinal fasciculus causing bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia and divergence.

120. A patient has the following findings: a gaze palsy to one side, and on attempted gaze to the opposite side impaired adduction and nystagmus of the abducting eye. In addition, the patient has a facial palsy on the side with the gaze palsy. What syndrome is present?
This is a One-and-a-Half Syndrome.

121. Where is the lesion in the One-and-a-Half Syndrome?

The lesion involves both the abducens nucleus and the medial longitudinal fasciculus. The “one” is an ipsilateral conjugate gaze palsy (lesion of the abducens nucleus) and the “half” is an ipsilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (lesion of the MLF). Because the genu of the seventh nerve passes around the 6th nerve nucleus in the facial colliculus, lesions in this area usually also result in an ipsilateral peripheral seventh nerve palsy.

122. What are 2 common causes of isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia?
Multiple sclerosis in the young and lacunar infarction in the elderly.

123. What conditions may mimic an isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia?
Myasthenia gravis and Wernicke’s encephalopathy can mimic isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia.

124. What conditions may mimic the one-and-a-half syndrome?
Myasthenia gravis and Wernicke’s encephalopathy can mimic the one-and-a-half syndrome.

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The information below is from Neuro-ophthalmology Illustrated-2nd Edition. Biousse V and Newman NJ. 2012. Thieme

13.5.5 The Lesion Is Internuclear or Supranuclear
Internuclear and supranuclear ocular motor disorders are caused by damage to those parts of the brain proximal to the ocular motor nuclei that include pathways controlling eye movement.
They include lesions in the following:
● Brainstem (medulla, pons, and midbrain)
● Cerebellum
● Hemispheres (thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebral hemispheres)

There are separate final common pathways for control of horizontal eye movements (▶Fig. 13.111) and control of vertical eye movements.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rgO2ndslbubkINiycV-GPjWMAu32b9JDSE1HdbdGD5Q9FieDz1pl4T4-iTbQ3RkPS8C31eaSOOm49XAT6OFFfN3X2Ux2r06khR4LjV4c5k90WwYVAsDLYrvN2_RkmNfgpuRGY2Jm

Control of Horizontal Eye Movements
● The sixth nerve nucleus (also known as the horizontal gaze center) has interneurons that connect to the contralateral third nerve nucleus via the MLF. This allows both eyes to move in the same direction at the same time (e.g., activation of the right sixth nerve nucleus will activate the right lateral rectus innervated by the right sixth nerve, and the left medial rectus innervated by the left third nerve).
● The paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF) contains burst neurons responsible for horizontal saccades only.
● Each Vestibular nuclear complex sends axons to the ipsilateral (inhibitory) and contralateral (excitatory) sixth nerve nuclei to stabilize the conjugate gaze.

Horizontal Eye Movement Abnormalities
Abnormal horizontal eye movements include the following:

Horizontal Gaze Paresis
A lesion in the pons is the most common location for a horizontal gaze deficit.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/nPoUGV_IPt1p8rqoYZVAZ7NQasqp4U4a4kL4DJ4k2Ga9uoAm99NTR2z87R8vV0jL9nyi85NDZ3461W_NXHlVL0ZbmZVrYZAajJLlmfDwTTzEub3xT92VXokC8bb2_BqDUwYAcy5_
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/G--xItYtt_w5e8BMIMl7Sv7XyxfICEzHDhz-lKnJ0BCD6kPkExIg0Hq-Eho_DJBAsv5CjmA-XrLltM_LYd0Jq1JfeZxlzzDjRwXLgXS2LyZya7fTeUIi9pVfGeG3WIUqBQPZLHU8

● Lesion of the sixth nerve nucleus (▶Fig. 13.112 and ▶Fig. 13.113)
  ○ Loss of all ipsilateral voluntary and reflexive conjugate eye movements
  ○ Ipsilateral facial weakness
● Lesion of the PPRF
  ○ Loss of all ipsilateral horizontal rapid eye movements (saccades)
  ○ Vestibulo-ocular reflexes and pursuit eye movements are spared with lesions of the PPRF

Classic causes of horizontal gaze paresis include the following:
● Lesions of the pons
  ○ Infarction (anterior cerebellar artery syndrome)
  ○ Hemorrhage (vascular malformations)
  ○ Multiple sclerosis
  ○ Tumor (glioma, metastasis)
  ○ Abscess
  ○ Central pontine myelinolysis
● Wernicke encephalopathy
● Gaucher disease
● Congenital diseases:
  ○ Bilateral Duane syndrome
  ○ Möbius syndrome
  ○ Horizontal gaze palsy with progressive scoliosis (HGPPS)

Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia
A lesion of the MLF causes an internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO).
Unilateral INO (▶Fig. 13.114 and ▶Fig. 13.115) consists of the following:
● Ipsilesional deficit of adduction (slowing of adducting saccades)
● Nystagmus of the contralateral abducting eye
● Skew deviation
● Convergence may overcome the adduction deficit

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/MCvohhnt4QE_RVfhXBBXu9QUohQ9Xbc9CGqWBk7HTOmic8zgVvqw1i1Ztr0HEDg9zcciae3VU7PGs93jf8QNYW8QgC_KxGC3w-I2E1ZZe6leM_HB_N_JJcDTaSSNeesEseaFGAVM
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/pOEDruc6bLC5NMzTDGcCrvjVamL4c7XomLkKqVWNHkOU5PM0kqUckCa0qEXaGkFRI9Y8sgaeQwjzbTyzUPtzKRyHl_74bzL0ZcJTUfPI8fYViGEkyiB9-p6XvtJYe2JceGNpjALY

Bilateral Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia(▶Fig. 13.116)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/X4CUtfuL90mVBdqTC5uAcGHigZ0bozTPCOwh1wxnpgU-rec661E3gvsti-1m_Xv3HuhbRBBbWVNdTj4UQbPZpDJ6I7HhTNGq-NtpVS5yji3FYPX9UkMyQfR9pMu1QRn-Gve4e7Xb

Bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia includes the following:
● No adduction of either eye (or slow adducting saccades bilaterally)
● Nystagmus of abducting eyes
● Convergence may overcome the adduction deficits.
● Walleyed bilateral INO (WEBINO): same as already described, but the patient is exotropic and there is loss of convergence

Classic causes of unilateral or bilateral ophthalmoplegia include the following:
● Lesions involving the MLF
○ Multiple sclerosis
○ Infarction (lacune)
○ Hemorrhage (vascular malformations)
○ Tumor (glioma, metastasis)
○ Abscess
○ Central pontine myelinolysis
● Wernicke encephalopathy

Pearls
Bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia is a classic finding in patients with multiple sclerosis.

One-and-a-Half Syndrome
Lesions involving both the abducens nucleus and the MLF cause a “one-and-a-half” syndrome (▶Fig. 13.117 and ▶Fig. 13.118):
● The “one” is an ipsilateral conjugate gaze palsy (lesion of the abducens nucleus)
● The “half” is an ipsilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (lesion of the MLF) 

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SUmAYrKvnWTXiJ99YMyantjVhZzrwdNiy7Rx2wPKzplnm_zDM-bbhp6IxWz9-KTqKPAKVIQx1P6QPTPupIe2u7S3uoPloVbME-AglVTPJb3zIV8KBhdtg6GEzegDrO5TDMVlkbcp

Classic causes of one-and-a-half syndrome are as follows:
● Lesions involving the pons
    ○ Infarction (lacuna)
    ○ Hemorrhage (vascular malformations)
    ○ Multiple sclerosis
    ○ Tumor (glioma, metastasis)
    ○ Abscess
    ○ Central pontine myelinosis
● Wernicke encephalopathy

Pearls
 
○ Common causes of isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia and one-and-a half syndrome include multiple sclerosis in the young and lacunar infarction in the elderly.
  ○ Myasthenia gravis can mimic isolated internuclear ophthalmoplegia and one-and-a-half syndrome.


Reference: 1. Neuro-ophthalmology Illustrated-2nd Edition. Biousse V and Newman NJ. 2012. Thieme

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