Ocular neuromyotonia after radiation therapy.

Ocular neuromyotonia is a paroxysmal monocular deviation that results from spasm of eye muscles secondary to spontaneous discharges from third, fourth, or sixth nerve axons. We observed this rare disorder in four patients who had been treated with radiation for tumors in the region of the sella turcica and cavernous sinus. Based on these cases and four others identified in the literature it would appear that radiation predisposes to a cranial neuropathy in which ocular neuromyotonia may be the major manifestation. Radiation appears to be the most common cause of ocular neuromyotonia.