Sixth Cranial Nerve Palsy in Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a rare but benign cause of Cranial neuropathy. Extra ocular motility disorders may occur in patients with diabetes, secondary to diabetic neuropathy, involving the third, fourth, or sixth cranial nerve. Third cranial nerve is most commonly affected due to diabetes induced micro-vasculopathy. Rarely, sixth cranial nerve palsy can occur. We report a 48-year-old man, a known case of diabetes mellitus for 10 years, who presented with binocular diplopia, secondary to sixth nerve palsy. Neuropathy of the cranial nerves, despite being a rare entity in diabetes mellitus, appears to be a serious problem from a diagnostic and therapeutic point of view. Although the prognosis is excellent, it remains a diagnosis of exclusion and retrospection.