[Painful ophthalmoplegia of Tolosa-Hunt syndrome. 4 Nigerian cases]

The Tolosa-Hunt syndrome is a painful ophthalmoplegia in relation with a granulomatous lesion of the cavernous sinus of obscure etiology. The authors report 4 cases diagnosed at National Hospital of Niamey (Republic of Niger). They were 3 men and one woman. The unilateral retro-orbital cephalalgia was constant. Three patients had left oculomotor and abducens nerves' palsies and one only left trochlear nerve's palsy. In three cases the therapeutic efficacy of systemic corticosteroids was dramatic with complete remission of clinical signs. In a fourth case, chlorambucil was used with complete recovery.