Acute unilateral third nerve palsy as an early manifestation of central nervous system relapse in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia.

The reported incidence of central nervous system (CNS) involvement by acute myeloid leukemia (AML) ranges widely from less than 10-30%. Acute unilateral third nerve palsy is an unusual first manifestation of such an event. We describe a rare ophthalmologic manifestation of CNS relapse in a 25-year-old patient with AML who had undergone allogeneic stem cell transplant, and demonstrate the value of MRI in the early diagnosis.