Management of Refractory Trigeminal Neuralgia

ABSTRACT

Treatment of trigeminal neuralgia as currently provided in the United Kingdom is discussed. The role of interventional procedures when pharmacotherapy alone is inadequate is described. Perspectives from specialist in Romania and Belgium also are provided.     

Trigeminal Neuralgia in Pregnancy: A Management Challenge

Pregnancy is known to aggravate pre‐existing chronic painful conditions. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), albeit a disease of the elderly, may afflict pregnant females, which can further complicate its management. Teratogenic effects of the commonly used drugs on the developing fetus limit pharmacological treatment. Moreover, safety of commonly performed interventional therapies is marred by their inherent fetomaternal effects and more importantly the risk for radiation effects on the fetus due to the use of fluoroscopy. This rare coexistence of TN in pregnancy has not been reported before. Here we present a case of TN in a young woman, whose pain was aggravated when she became pregnant, and she was treated successfully by conventional radiofrequency ablation of the Gasserian ganglion.     

微血管减压术治疗原发性三叉神经痛手术体会

目的：探讨原发性三叉神经痛微血管减压的手术效果及其影响因素。方法：选择正规药物治疗无效的三叉神经痛患者行核磁共振检查,排除继发性病因引起三叉神经痛的患者,对30例原发性三叉神经痛患者行微血管减压术。结果：28例患者术后疼痛立即消失,1例患者症状明显缓解,1例无效,无死亡患者,有效率为97%,随访1年有1例复发。结论：术前核磁共振检查能否发现责任血管,对手术和术后效果影响大;但同时与术者的经验和显微操作熟练程度密切相关。     

Trigeminal Neuralgia. Clinical Manifestations of First Division Involvement

A series of 19 patients with what originally had been diagnosed as a first division (V₁) trigeminal neuralgia was collected. The inclusion criteria were severe, rather short-lasting pain attacks within the V₁ area, combined with trigger mechanisms. There were 10 women and 9 men, and the mean age of onset was 57.8 years. Fifteen of 16 with adequate information on attack duration had paroxysms of a "few seconds'" duration or less, whereas 10 patients had paroxysms lasting ≥2 seconds. In an exceptional case, only "more long-lasting" attacks (greater than 30 seconds' duration) were experienced.
In regard to autonomic phenomena, lacrimation was most frequently present (in a total of 8 patients; 3 rather regularly, 5 more irregularly). The combination of lacrimation, conjunctival injection, and rhinorrhea was present in only 2 (of 19), and in neither of them in a major way. Typically, autonomic phenomena occurred during the later stages of disease and during particularly severe and long-lasting attacks. Seven of 14 with adequate information also had nocturnal attacks. Initially, a more or less complete carbamazepine effect was reported by 10 of 13 patients. Precipitation mechanisms were the same as with second and third division tic, but were mainly located within the V₁ area, particularly initially.
A comparison with SUNCT syndrome has been made. SUNCT is a predominantly male disorder, with only exceptional attacks of ≥10 seconds' duration, and generally with attacks of 15 seconds or longer. Autonomic symptoms and signs are more pronounced than in V₁ tic. Carbamazepine generally provides minor, if any, benefit in SUNCT. The present work strongly indicates that the two disorders are essentially different.     

Trigeminal Neuralgia During Sleep

▪ Abstract:   Pain paroxysms in trigeminal neuralgia (TN) are sudden and extremely intense. Nonetheless, many clinicians who treat TN report that patients are rarely if ever awakened at night by pain attacks. If true, this observation is important as it implies the presence of a powerful sleep protective mechanism. We queried TN patients and their habitual sleep partners about painful awakenings and discovered that such awakenings are in fact quite common. As during the day, pain paroxysms during sleep are typically induced by natural stimuli at TN trigger points. Brief attacks sometimes occur without frankly awakening the patient, but they appear nonetheless to be painful. ▪     

1. Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia is a common cause of facial pain. It has a significant impact on the quality of life and the socioeconomic functioning of the patient. The aim of this review is to provide recommendations for medical management of trigeminal neuralgia based on current evidence. Based upon the analyses of the literature combined with experience in pain management, symptoms, assessment, differential diagnosis, and treatment possibilities of trigeminal neuralgia are described and discussed. Recommendations for pain management are given and are displayed in a clinical practice algorithm. Treatment should be multidisciplinary. Various treatment options and their risks should be discussed with the patient. The first treatment of choice is carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine. In younger patients, the first choice of invasive treatment is probably microvascular decompression. For elderly patients, radiofrequency treatment of Gasserian ganglion is recommended and the technique is described in detail.     

Trigeminal Neuralgia Secondary to Tumor With Normal Exam, Responsive to Carbamazepine

Trigeminal neuralgia is most commonly idiopathic, although it can be associated with multiple sclerosis. Tumors are rare causes of trigeminal neuralgia. A case is presented of trigeminal neuralgia with normal neurological examination and responsive to carbamazepine, secondary to a cerebellopontine angle meningioma. Literature relative to neoplastic etiologies of trigeminal neuralgia is reviewed. The role of electrodiagnostic testing in the evaluation of trigeminal neuralgia is considered. A normal neurological examination and responsiveness to carbamazepine do not exclude tumor as an etiology of trigeminal neuralgia.     

A型肉毒毒素治疗三叉神经痛

目的:观察A型肉毒毒素治疗三叉神经痛(TN)的临床疗效。方法:选取57例TN患者,随机分为A、B 2组。A组28例患者口服卡马西平片治疗;B组29例在疼痛部位及板机点周围皮下注射肉毒素治疗。治疗后1,3及6个月时随访,行简式McGill疼痛问卷表(SF-MPQ)及生活质量评价量表(SF-36)评分,并观察不良反应。结果:治疗中脱失7例,A组3例,B组4例。与治疗前3个月SF-MPQ及SF-36平均分作为基础水平比较,治疗1,3及6个月后2组SF-MPQ评分明显下降,SF-36明显上升(P<0.01),B组表明更明显(P<0.05,P<0.01)。治疗过程中,A组出现不适患者多于B组。结论:A型肉毒毒素疼痛点皮下注射治疗TN发作作用高峰1～3个月,维持时间6个月,且临床疗效显著,不良反应轻微。     

Efficacy and Safety of Gabapentin vs. Carbamazepine in the Treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Meta‐Analysis

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of gabapentin in comparison with carbamazepine in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed. Two reviewers independently selected studies, assessed study quality, and extracted data. Sixteen randomized controlled trials that included 1,331 patients were assessed. The meta‐analysis showed that the total effective rate of gabapentin therapy group was similar with carbamazepine therapy group (OR = 1.600, 95% CI 1.185, 2.161, P = 0.002). While the effective rate of gabapentin therapy for 4 weeks was higher than that of carbamazepine therapy (OR = 1.495, 95% CI 1.061, 2.107, P = 0.022, heterogeneity: x² = 7.12, P = 0.625, I² = 0.0%), the life satisfaction improvement is also better in the gabapentin therapy group after a 4‐week treatment (SMD = 0.966, 95% CI 0.583, 1.348, P < 0.001). Furthermore, our meta‐analysis suggested that the adverse reaction rate of gabapentin therapy group was significantly lower than that of carbamazepine therapy group (OR = 0.312, 95% CI 0.240, 0.407, P < 0.001). In conclusion, present trials comparing gabapentin with carbamazepine are all poor in terms of methodological quality. Based on the available evidence, it is not possible to draw conclusions regarding the efficacy and side effects of gabapentin being superior to carbamazepine.     

Trigeminal Neuralgia as the Sole Symptom of Pancreatic Cancer

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a condition characterized by brief electric shock‐like pains in the topography of the trigeminal nerve. The most common cause of this disorder is the compression of the trigeminal nerve root by tortuous or aberrant vessels. In this report, we describe a patient who presented due to paroxysmal and excruciating facial pain that was found to be secondary to pancreatic cancer.     

微血管减压术治疗三叉神经痛的疗效及其并发症的预防与处理

目的探讨微血管减压术治疗三叉神经痛的疗效及其并发症的预防与处理策略。方法采用微血管减压术治疗93例三叉神经痛患者,对其临床疗效及术后并发症等临床资料进行回顾性分析。结果 93例中89例术后疼痛症状消失,有效率为95.70%。术后并发症的发生情况：皮下积液4例,脑脊液漏1例,听力下降3例,耳鸣3例,面神经功能障碍4例,手术无效4例,死亡1例。结论微血管减压术治疗三叉神经痛是一种十分成熟的技术,规范手术的各种操作和积极应用监测技术能够尽量避免各种并发症的发生,显著提高手术的安全性。     

Cardiac Arrest Caused by Trigeminal Neuralgia

A 67-year-old man with a 12-year history of trigeminal neuralgia experienced multiple fainting episodes preceded by right facial pain. One episode resulted in cardiac arrest with successful resuscitation. Pacemaker insertion prevented further episodes of syncope despite the occurrence of pain. The fainting episodes and cardiac arrest are believed to be unusual manifestations of trigeminal neuralgia.     

原发性三叉神经痛的显微外科治疗

目的 :探讨原发性三叉神经痛的显微外科治疗及其疗效。方法 :根据术中探查有无明确的血管压迫三叉神经 ,分别采用显微血管减压术或感觉根部分切断术。 132例病人中 95例行血管减压术 ;37例行感觉根切断术。结果 :无手术死亡病例。随访 6个月 15年 ,治愈或好转 130例 ,有效率为     

脉冲射频治疗三叉神经痛时射频电压与疗效的关系

目的 探讨脉冲射频治疗三叉神经痛时射频电压与术后镇痛效果的关系.方法 选取脉冲射频治疗后效果欠佳的原发三叉神经痛患者22例(无效组)及同期随机选取脉冲射频效果满意的患者22例(有效组),比较两组患者术中射频电压、局部电阻、刺激电压等数据,并且比较两组术后并发症发生情况.结果 有效组射频电压明显高于无效组(P＜0.01),面部麻木患者明显多于无效组(P＜0.01).结论 脉冲射频电压高的患者治疗效果更好.     

后颅窝肿瘤引起的三叉神经痛11例分析

目的:报道11例后颅窝肿瘤引起的三叉神经痛病例,探讨相关的诊断、治疗上的问题。方法:回顾5年来经MRI确诊的住院病人,参考文献,总结诊治经验。结果:11例患者经手术治疗,三叉神经痛症状消失,无发生严重并发症。结论:对于症状不典型、发作时间长的三叉神经痛患者应尽早行MRI检查以便早期发现肿瘤,降低手术风险、提高肿瘤全切除率。