Other Tests
On testing of brainstem auditory evoked responses, findings are occasionally abnormal, suggesting widespread neurologic abnormalities.
EMG findings show absent lateral rectus firing on attempted abduction and firing of both horizontal recti on attempted adduction.
The affected lateral rectus muscle behaves like a muscle double innervated by a weak abducens nerve and a stronger oculomotor nerve branch or like a muscle only innervated by an oculomotor nerve branch. This finding demonstrates that, though a muscle is present, it has a functioning yet an abnormal nerve supply.
Likewise, simultaneous EMG recording of the lateral and medial recti muscles revealed a paradoxical innervation of the lateral rectus muscle to be the pathogenetic principle of all forms of DS.
Histologic Findings
Early histopathologic and surgical studies led to the conclusion that DS was a local, purely myogenic phenomenon. Therefore, the generally accepted concept was that the cause of abduction deficiency was fibrosis of the lateral rectus muscle and that the limitation of adduction was caused by a false posterior insertion of the medial rectus muscle or by adhesions between the medial rectus muscle and the orbital wall.
N. R. Miller and coauthors from the John Hopkins University performed complete intracranial and orbital pathologic examination of 2 cases of DS in which the clinical findings were well documented.[20] The first case was bilateral DS type 3. Postmortem examination of the brainstem and the posterior parts of the orbits revealed bilateral absence of the abducens nuclei and the abducens nerves. No large motor neurons were identified at levels the abducens nuclei normally occupy. No intra-axial fibers referable to the sixth cranial nerve could be identified with the brainstem. Both oculomotor nuclei and nerves were normal at the level of the ciliary ganglion, the inferior division of the oculomotor nerve divided into several branches penetrating the inferior medial aspect of the lateral rectus muscle.
The other case showed only 2 thin atrophic fibers of 0.1-mm diameter, both of which had separate exits (1 mm distance between them) from the dura. The further course of these fibers could not be examined.
Sinclair WW. Abnormal associated movements of the eyelids. Ophthalmol Rev. 1895;14:307.
Bahr K. Vorstellung eines Falles von eigenartiger Muskelanomalie eines Auges Ber Dtsch. Ges Opthalmol. 1896;25:334.
Stilling J. Bergmann JF, ed. Untersuchungen uber die Entstehung der Kurzsichtigkeit. Wiesbaden; 1887:13.
Turk S. Bemerkungen zu einem Falle von Retraction des Auges. Cbl Pract Augenheilk. 1899;23:14.
Wolff J. The occurrences of retraction movements of the eyeball together with congenital defects in the external ocular muscles. Arch Ophthalmol. 1900;29:297.
Duane A. Congenital deficiency of abduction, associated with impairment of adduction, retraction movements, contraction of the palpebral fissure and oblique movements of the eye. 1905. Arch Ophthalmol. Oct 1996;114(10):1255-6; discussion 1257. [Medline].
Brown HW. Congenital structural anomalies of the muscles. In: Allen JH, ed. Strabismus Ophthalmic Symposium 11. St. Louis: CV Mosby Co; 1958:391.
Lyle TK, Bridgeman GJO. Worth and Chavasse's Squint. The Binocular Reflexes and the Treatment of Strabismus. 9th ed. London: Bailliere Tindall and Cox; 1959:251-5.
Malbran J. Estrabismos y paralysis. Clinica y terapeutica, Buenos Aires. Editorial Oftalmologia. 1949;627.
Huber A. Electrophysiology of the retraction syndromes. Br J Ophthalmol. Mar 1974;58(3):293-300. [Medline].
Engle E. The genetics of strabismus: Duane, Moebius, and fibrosis syndromes. In: Traboulis E, ed. Genetic Diseases of the Eye: A Textbook and Atlas. New York: Oxford University Press; 1998:477-512.
Kekunnaya R, Gupta A, Sachdeva V, Krishnaiah S, Rao BV, Vashist U, et al. Duane Retraction Syndrome: Series of 441 Cases. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Nov 8 2011;1-6. [Medline].
Kirkham TH. Anisometropia and amblyopia in Duane's syndrome. Am J Ophthalmol. May 1970;69(5):774-7. [Medline].
Maruo T, Kusota N, Arimoto H, Kikuchi R. Duane's syndrome. Jap J Ophthalmol. 1979;23:453.
Tredici TD, von Noorden GK. Are anisometropia and amblyopia common in Duane's syndrome?. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Jan-Feb 1985;22(1):23-5. [Medline].
von Noorden GK. Recession of both horizontal recti muscles in Duane's retraction syndrome with elevation and depression of the adducted eye. Am J Ophthalmol. Sep 15 1992;114(3):311-3. [Medline].
Duane TD, Schatz NJ, Caputo AR. Pseudo-Duane's retraction syndrome. Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc. 1977;74:122-32. [Medline].
Hoyt WF, Nachtigaller H. Anomalies of ocular motor nerves. Neuroanatomic correlates of paradoxical innervation in Duane's syndrome and related congenital ocular motor disorders. Am J Ophthalmol. Sep 1965;60(3):443-8. [Medline].
Matteucci P. 1 dufetti congeniti di abduzione (congenital abduction deficiency) con particolare riguardo alla patogenesi. Rass Ital Ottallmol. 1946;15:345.
Miller NR, Kiel SM, Green WR, Clark AW. Unilateral Duane's retraction syndrome (Type 1). Arch Ophthalmol. Sep 1982;100(9):1468-72. [Medline].
Merino P, Merino M, Gómez De Liaño P, Blanco N. Horizontal rectus surgery in Duane syndrome. Eur J Ophthalmol. Jun 23 2011;0. [Medline].
Pineles SL, Rosenbaum AL, Kekunnaya R, Velez FG. Medial rectus recession after vertical rectus transposition in patients with esotropic Duane syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol. Sep 2011;129(9):1195-8. [Medline].
Alexandrakis G, Saunders RA. Duane retraction syndrome. Ophthalmol Clin North Am. Sep 2001;14(3):407-17. [Medline].
Appukuttan B, Gillanders E, Juo SH, Freas-Lutz D, Ott S, Sood R, et al. Localization of a gene for Duane retraction syndrome to chromosome 2q31. Am J Hum Genet. Dec 1999;65(6):1639-46. [Medline].
Bagheri A, Repka MX. Association of Duane retraction syndrome and Brown syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Jul-Aug 2005;42(4):235-7. [Medline].
Bremer JL. Recurrent branches of abducens nerve in human embryos. Am J Anat. 1921;28:371.
Britt MT, Velez FG, Velez G, Rosenbaum AL. Vertical rectus muscle transposition for bilateral duane syndrome. J AAPOS. Oct 2005;9(5):416-21. [Medline].
Campos E. Strabismus and ocular motility disorders. In: Proceedings of the Sixth Meeting of the International Strabismological Association. Surfer's Paradise, Australia: MacMillan Press; 1990:221-235.
Carlson MR, Jampolsky A. An adjustable transposition procedure for abduction deficiencies. Am J Ophthalmol. Mar 1979;87(3):382-7. [Medline].
Chew CK, Foster P, Hurst JA, Salmon JF. Duane's retraction syndrome associated with chromosome 4q27-31 segment deletion. Am J Ophthalmol. Jun 1995;119(6):807-9. [Medline].
Chua B, Johnson K, Donaldson C, Martin F. Management of Duane retraction syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Jan-Feb 2005;42(1):13-7; quiz 45-6. [Medline].
Cross HE, Pfaffenbach DD. Duane's retraction syndrome and associated congenital malformations. Am J Ophthalmol. Mar 1972;73(3):442-50. [Medline].
Cullen P, Rodgers CS, Callen DF, Connolly VM, Eyre H, Fells P, et al. Association of familial Duane anomaly and urogenital abnormalities with a bisatellited marker derived from chromosome 22. Am J Med Genet. Nov 1 1993;47(6):925-30. [Medline].
de Decker W. Kestenbaum transposition operation for treatment of the Duane I retraction syndrome. Trans Ophthalmol Soc U K. 1980;100(4):479-82. [Medline].
DeRespinis PA, Caputo AR, Wagner RS, Guo S. Duane's retraction syndrome. Surv Ophthalmol. Nov-Dec 1993;38(3):257-88. [Medline].
Diamond G. Esotropia. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS. Ophthalmology. Philadelphia: Mosby; 1999:6.6.1-6.6.8.
Ferrell RL, Jones B, Lucas RV Jr. Simultaneous occurrence of the Holt-Oram and the Duane syndromes. J Pediatr. Oct 1966;69(4):630-4. [Medline].
Glaser JS, Bachynski B. Congenital motor and sensory anomalies. In: Glaser JS. Neuroophthalmology. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott Co; 1990:419-435.
Gobin MH. Surgical management of Duane's syndrome. Br J Ophthalmol. Mar 1974;58(3):301-6. [Medline].
Goldstein JH, Sacks DB. Bilateral Duane's syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol. Jan-Feb 1977;14(1):12-7. [Medline].
Gourdeau A, Miller N, Zee D, Morris J. Central ocular motor abnormalities in Duane's retraction syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol. Oct 1981;99(10):1809-10. [Medline].
Hotchkiss MG, Miller NR, Clark AW, Green WR. Bilateral Duane's retraction syndrome. A clinical-pathologic case report. Arch Ophthalmol. May 1980;98(5):870-4. [Medline].
Isenberg S, Urist MJ. Clinical observations in 101 consecutive patients with Duane's retraction syndrome. Am J Ophthalmol. Sep 1977;84(3):419-25. [Medline].
Jay WM, Hoyt CS. Abnormal brain stem auditory-evoked potentials in Stilling-Turk-Duane retraction syndrome. Am J Ophthalmol. Jun 1980;89(6):814-8. [Medline].
Johnson LV. Adherence syndrome: Pseudoparalysis of the lateral or superior rectus muscles. Arch Ophthalmol. 1950;44:870.
Kawano K, Fujita S. Duane's retraction syndrome associated with morning glory syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Jan-Feb 1981;18(1):51-4. [Medline].
Kirkham TH. Duane's syndrome and familial perceptive deafness. Br J Ophthalmol. May 1969;53(5):335-9. [Medline].
Kohlhase J, Chitayat D, Kotzot D, Ceylaner S, Froster UG, Fuchs , et al. SALL4 mutations in Okihiro syndrome (Duane-radial ray syndrome), acro-renal-ocular syndrome, and related disorders. Hum Mutat. Sep 2005;26(3):176-83. [Medline].
Kowal VO, McKeown CA. Duane's syndrome. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 1992;32(1):51-62. [Medline].
Kraft SP. A surgical approach for Duane syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. May-Jun 1988;25(3):119-30. [Medline].
Kraft SP, O'Donoghue EP, Roarty JD. Improvement of compensatory head postures after strabismus surgery. Ophthalmology. Aug 1992;99(8):1301-8. [Medline].
Kruger KE. [Contribution on the etiology of the Stilling-Turk-Duane syndrome]. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1969;47(2):415-23. [Medline].
Laughlin R. Hereditary paralysis of the abducens nerve. Am J Ophthalmol. 1937;20:396.
MacDonald AL, Crawford JS, Smith DR. Duane's Retraction Syndrome: an evaluation of the sensory status. Can J Ophthalmol. Oct 1974;9(4):458-62. [Medline].
Mehel E, Quere MA, Lavenant F, Pechereau A. [Epidemiological and clinical aspects of Stilling-Turk-Duane syndrome]. J Fr Ophtalmol. 1996;19(8-9):533-42. [Medline].
Mein J, Trimble R. Diagnosis and Management of Ocular Motility Disorders. 2nd ed. Blackwells; 1991.
Molarte AB, Rosenbaum AL. Vertical rectus muscle transposition surgery for Duane's syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Jul-Aug 1990;27(4):171-7. [Medline].
Morad Y, Kowal L, Scott AB. Lateral rectus muscle disinsertion and reattachment to the lateral orbital wall. Br J Ophthalmol. Aug 2005;89(8):983-5. [Medline].
Moster M. Paresis of isolated and multiple cranial nerves and painful ophthalmoplegia. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS. Ophthalmology. Philadelphia: Mosby; 1999:11.16.1-11.16.12.
Nelson LB. Severe adduction deficiency following a large medial rectus recession in Duane's retraction syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol. Jun 1986;104(6):859-62. [Medline].
Noel LP, Clarke WN. Adduction deficiency following medial recti recession in Duane's retraction syndrome. Case report. Arch Ophthalmol. Apr 1987;105(4):465. [Medline].
O'Malley ER, Helveston EM, Ellis FD. Duane's retraction syndrome -- plus. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. May-Jun 1982;19(3):161-5. [Medline].
Okihiro MM, Tasaki T, Nakano KK, Bennett BK. Duane syndrome and congenital upper-limb anomalies. A familial occurrence. Arch Neurol. Mar 1977;34(3):174-9. [Medline].
Otradovec J. [A bilateral Duane's syndrome in a brain stem tumor]. Klin Monatsbl Augenheilkd. 1968;153(5):686-91. [Medline].
Parsa CF, Grant E, Dillon WP Jr, du Lac S, Hoyt WF. Absence of the abducens nerve in Duane syndrome verified by magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Ophthalmol. Mar 1998;125(3):399-401. [Medline].
Pfaffenbach DD, Cross HE, Kearns TP. Congenital anomalies in Duane's retraction syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol. Dec 1972;88(6):635-9. [Medline].
Pieroni D. Goldenhar's syndrome associated with bilateral Duane's retraction syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol. 1969;6:16.
Pressman SH, Scott WE. Surgical treatment of Duane's syndrome. Ophthalmology. Jan 1986;93(1):29-38. [Medline].
Raab EL. Clinical features of Duane's syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 1966;23:64.
Ramsay J, Taylor D. Congenital crocodile tears: a key to the aetiology of Duane's syndrome. Br J Ophthalmol. Jul 1980;64(7):518-22. [Medline].
Rhee DJ, Pyfer MF. Pediatrics: strabismus syndromes. In: Rhee DJ, Pyfer MF. The Wills Eye Manual: Office and Emergency Room Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Disease. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 1999:209-210.
Ro A, Chernoff G, MacRae D, Orton RB, Cadera W. Auditory function in Duane's retraction syndrome. Am J Ophthalmol. Jan 15 1990;109(1):75-8. [Medline].
Rogers GL, Bremer DL. Surgical treatment of the upshoot and downshoot in Duanes' retraction syndrome. Ophthalmology. Nov 1984;91(11):1380-3. [Medline].
Rosenbaum AL, Weiss SJ. Monozygotic twins discordant for Duane's retraction syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Nov-Dec 1978;15(6):359-61. [Medline].
Sato S. Electromyographic studies on Duane's retraction syndrome. Report 1. Qualitative changes of action currents of extraocular muscles in ocular movements. Acta Soc Ophthalmol Jap. 1959;63:228.
Saunders RA, Phillips MS. Anterior segment ischemia after three rectus muscle surgery. Ophthalmology. Apr 1988;95(4):533-7. [Medline].
Scott AB, Wong GY. Duane's syndrome. An electromyographic study. Arch Ophthalmol. Feb 1972;87(2):140-7. [Medline].
Shainberg M. Duane syndrome. Am Orthopt J. 2000.
Sprunger DT. Recession of both horizontal rectus muscles in Duane syndrome with globe retraction in primary position. J AAPOS. Mar 1997;1(1):31-3. [Medline].
Strachan IM, Brown BH. Electromyography of extraocular muscles in Duane's syndrome. Br J Ophthalmol. Aug 1972;56(8):594-9. [Medline].
Vincent C, Kalatzis V, Compain S, Levilliers J, Slim R, Graia F, et al. A proposed new contiguous gene syndrome on 8q consists of Branchio-Oto-Renal (BOR) syndrome, Duane syndrome, a dominant form of hydrocephalus and trapeze aplasia; implications for the mapping of the BOR gene. Hum Mol Genet. Oct 1994;3(10):1859-66. [Medline].
von Noorden GK, Murray E. Up- and downshoot in Duane's retraction syndrome. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. Sep-Oct 1986;23(5):212-5. [Medline].
Yuksel D, Optican LM, Lefevre P. Properties of saccades in duane retraction syndrome. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. Sep 2005;46(9):3144-51. [Medline].
Zhang F. Clinical features of 201 cases with Duane's retraction syndrome. Chin Med J (Engl). Oct 1997;110(10):789-91. [Medline].
| Category | Description |
| Type | |
| 1 (70%-80%) | Inability to abduct Normal or minimal defect in adduction Esotropia with head straight A or V pattern Usually updrift or a downdrift of affected eye on adduction or attempted abduction Globe retraction and palpebral-fissure narrowing on adduction Usual face turn to affected side Normal stereo possible |
| 2 (about 7%) | Inability to adduct Normal or minimal defect in abduction Exotropia of the affected eye Marked upshoot Globe retraction and palpebral-fissure narrowing on adduction Stereo normal or suppressed Face turn to normal side |
| 3 (about 15%) | Inability ability to abduct and adduct Globe retraction and palpebral-fissure narrowing on attempted adduction Possible upshoot and downshoot on adduction Straight or nearly straight head position Usually, normal stereo |
| 4 | Not usual DS or DS-type appearance Large-angle exotropia Face turn to uninvolved side Limited adduction Simultaneous abduction when looking toward uninvolved side Usually suppresses 1 eye |
| Subtype | |
| A | Affected eye turned inward toward the nose (esotropia) |
| B | Affected eye turned outward toward the ear (exotropia) |
| C | Eyes in a straight primary position |

