Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal Neuralgia is a facial nerve disorder that causes sudden and severe shock-like pains in the face. It is reported to be the most painful condition in the world. The disease affects approximately 1.5% of the population mostly people over the age of 55 although it can affect people of any age.
There are several causes of TN. It is believed that in most people the disease is caused by the irritation of a blood vessel lying close to the nerve. Sometimes this is referred to as “Typical TN”
Other causes (sometimes called atypical) include MS, tumors, infections and damage to the trigeminal nerve from surgery, dental work or trauma.
Most people can be helped and successfully treated by either drugs or by neurosurgery. There are three main kinds of surgery:
- The Microvascular Decompression (MVD) which protects the nerve by separating the offending blood vessel from the Trigeminal nerve
- Destructive procedures that damage the nerve to interrupt pain signals. These include the radiofrequency, glycerol and balloon Rhizotomies.
- Focussed radiation with the Gamma Knife or Linac machines.
TN can also be controlled by drugs. The drugs used are anticonvulsant drugs such as Carbamazepine, Oxycarbazepine, Gabapentin, Pregabalin or Phenytoin. There are many other drugs which can be used as well.
An excellent source of information about TN is the University of Manitoba’s website:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cranial_nerves/trigeminal_neuralgia/index.htm
We recommend you watch the tutorials
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cranial_nerves/trigeminal_neuralgia/tutorial.html
And the Complete Guide to TN
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cranial_nerves/trigeminal_neuralgia/manuscript/index.html
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