Bilateral oculomotor nerve palsies due to vascular conflict.

Departament of Neurosurgery, Instituto de Neurologia de Curitiba, Curitiba PR, Brazil; Department of Neurology, Instituto de Neurologia de Curitiba, Curitiba PR, Brazil; Neurological Clinic of Paraíba, João Pessoa PB, Brazil. Oculomotor nerve palsy is frequently caused by an aneurismal compression and diabetes mellitus. Brainstem infarction, cavernous sinus tumors and other intracranial lesions are well known causes of oculomotor palsy also. However, neurovascular conflict causing oculomotor nerve disturbances are rare. After the advent of high quality MRI and neuroimaging improvements, the diagnosis of such atypical neurovascular conflicts in symptomatic patients became quite simple. The case of a patient with bilateral oculomotor disorder with MRI imaging of the head showing a right oculomotor nerve compression by the right posterior cerebral artery and a left oculomotor nerve compression by the left superior cerebellar artery is reported and discussed.