Sixth nerve palsy
Overview
Sixth nerve palsy, or abducens nerve palsy, is a disorder associated with dysfunction of cranial nerve VI (the abducens nerve) which is responsible for contracting the lateral rectus muscle to abduct (i.e. turn out) the eye. The inability of an eye to turn outward results in a convergent strabismus or esotropia of which the primary symptom is double vision or diplopia in which the two images appear side-by-side. The condition is commonly unilateral, but can also occur bilaterally.
Symptoms
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Sixth nerve palsy includes the 3 symptoms listed below: * Paralysis of abducens (VI) nerve * Inability to look outwards * Double vision Note that Sixth nerve palsy symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Sixth nerve palsy signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.
Causes
Causes of Sixth nerve palsy (Diseases Database): The follow list shows some of the possible medical causes of Sixth nerve palsy that are listed by the Diseases Database: * Diabetes mellitus type 2 * Superior orbital fissure syndrome * Kearns-Sayre syndrome * Cavernous sinus thrombosis * Wildervanck's syndrome * Tolosa-Hunt syndrome * Intracranial space-occupying lesion * Thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency * Duane ocular retraction syndrome * Raised intracranial pressure * Mobius syndrome * Raymond Cestan syndrome * Gradenigo-Lannois syndrome Because the nerve emerges near the bottom of the brain, it is often the first nerve compressed when there is any rise in intracranial pressure. Different presentations of the condition, or associations with other conditions, can help to localize the site of the lesion along the VIth cranial nerve pathway.
Diagnosis
The signs and symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Sixth nerve palsy. This medical information about signs and symptoms for Sixth nerve palsy has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Sixth nerve palsy signs or Sixth nerve palsy symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Sixth nerve palsy may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Sixth nerve palsy symptoms.