Combarros O, Alvarez de Arcaya A, Berciano J
Service of Neurology, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain.
J Neurol. 1998 Feb;245(2):98-100. doi: 10.1007/s004150050185.
We report nine patients with hypoglossal nerve palsy as the sole neurological manifestation, without simultaneous involvement of other cranial nerves or long-tract signs. In four patients, no cause was found and the outcome was excellent. The next common cause proved to be metastatic disease at the base of the skull in three patients. Two exceptional causes were Chiari malformation in one case and dural arteriovenous fistula of the transverse sinus in another. Although the aetiological importance and ominous prognosis of neoplasia has been emphasized by others, our study suggests that an isolated hypoglossal nerve palsy may be benign and idiopathic.
