Total extrinsic ophthalmoplegia as only paraneoplastic sign two years before X-ray diagnosis of bronchial carcinoma.

An extrinsic total ophthalmoplegia developing two years before radiologic evidence of bronchial carcinoma and onset of Eaton-Lambert myasthenic syndrome is reported. Clinical and ENG data showed the neuromuscular location of the ophthalmoplegia, but repeated Tensilon and Prostigmine tests were negative. CT scan and CSF examinations revealed neither carcinomatous metastases nor inflammatory CNS disease. The case is an exceptional example of a paraneoplastic myasthenic syndrome long confined to the oculomotor muscles.