Cranial mononeuropathy III - diabetic type

Table of Contents

Definition

Cranial mononeuropathy III -- diabetic type -- is usually a complication of diabetes that causes double vision and eyelid drooping.


Alternative Names

Diabetic third nerve palsy; Pupil-sparing third cranial nerve palsy


Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Cranial mononeuropathy III - diabetic type is a mononeuropathy, which means that only one nerve is damaged. It affects the third cranial (oculomotor) nerve, which is one of the cranial nerves that controls eye movement.

This type of damage may occur along with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. It is due to damage to the small blood vessels that feed the nerve.

Cranial mononeuropathy III is the most common cranial nerve disorder in people with diabetes.

Causes may include:

  • Diabetes
  • Infarction of the nerve (tissue damage from loss of blood flow)
  • Mononeuritis multiplex


Review Date: 06/15/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)