[Vascular risk factors in patients with ophthalmoplegia]

The occurrence of high-risk factors for vascular disorders was analysed in a group of 43 patients suffering from diplopia of unknown aetiology. The subjects (25 men and 18 women) were aged between 17 and 78 years. Previously excluded were patients with intracranial or orbital tumors, ocular myositis or myasthenia, multiple sclerosis, endocrine orbitopathy, head trauma, cerebral hemorrhage or aneurysms, leucaemic infiltrates or metastasising tumors. Compared to the control groups of extensive epidemiological studies, the patients showed a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Adipositas, lipometabolic disturbance and cigarette smoking were also more frequent. The findings support the hypothesis of a vascular origin of eye-muscle paresis.