aetiology of cranial nerve XI palsy
Last reviewed 01/2018
Accessory nerve palsy may have unilateral and bilateral causes.
Unilateral causes include:
- trauma involving the neck or the base of the skull
- syringomyelia
- tumours - near the jugular foramen
- poliomyelitis
- platybasia
Bilateral causes include:
- motor neuron disease
- poliomyelitis
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
Note that bilateral sternomastoid and trapezius paralysis may also occur in myotonic dystrophy.