Tolosa-Hunt syndrome versus recurrent cranial neuropathy. Report of two cases with a prolonged follow-up

Abstract

Two patients are described who had suffered for 12 years from episodes of painful ophthalmoplegia consistent with a Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS) alternating with palsies of cranial nerves other than the oculomotor (fifth motor and seventh on both sides). These two cases, as well as other similar ones previously reported in the literature, suggest that THS may sometimes be a variant of so-called recurrent cranial neuropathy, which is a benign and poorly understood clinical entity on an inflammatory or ischaemic basis.