Stereotactic radio surgery and radio frequency rhizotomy for trigeminal neuralgia in multiple sclerosis: A single institution experience

OBJECTIVEThe prevalence of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS-TN) is higher than in the general population (idiopathic TN [ITN]). Glycerol rhizotomy (GR) is a percutaneous lesioning surgery commonly performed for the treatment of medically refractory TN. While treatment for acute pain relief is excellent, long-term pain relief is poorer. The object of this study was to assess the efficacy of percutaneous retrogasserian GR for the treatment of MS-TN versus ITN.METHODSA retrospective chart review was performed, identifying 219 patients who had undergone 401 GR procedures from 1983 to 2018 at a single academic institution. All patients were diagnosed with medically refractory MS-TN (182 procedures) or ITN (219 procedures). The primary outcome measures of interest were immediate pain relief and time to pain recurrence following initial and repeat GR procedures. Secondary outcomes included medication usage and presence of periprocedural hypesthesia.RESULTSThe initial pain-free response rate was similar between groups (p = 0.726): MS-TN initial GR 89.6%; MS-TN repeat GR 91.9%; ITN initial GR 89.6%; ITN repeat GR 87.0%. The median time to recurrence after initial GR was similar between MS-TN (2.7 ± 1.3 years) and ITN (2.1 ± 0.6 years) patients (p = 0.87). However, there was a statistically significant difference in the time to recurrence after repeat GR between MS-TN (2.3 ± 0.5 years) and ITN patients (1.2 ± 0.2 years; p < 0.05). The presence of periprocedural hypesthesia was highly predictive of pain-free survival (p < 0.01).CONCLUSIONSPatients with MS-TN achieve meaningful pain relief following GR, with an efficacy comparable to that following GR in patients with ITN. Initial and subsequent GR procedures are equally efficacious.

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Microvascular Transposition Without Teflon: A Single Institution's 17-Year Experience Treating Trigeminal Neuralgia

Operative Neurosurgery ◽

10.1093/ons/opaa413 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 397-405

Author(s):

Andrew R Pines ◽

Richard J Butterfield ◽

Evelyn L Turcotte ◽

Jose O Garcia ◽

Noel De Lucia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Postoperative Pain ◽

Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽

Fibrin Glue ◽

Microvascular Decompression ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Trigeminal Nerve Root

Abstract BACKGROUND Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) refractory to medical management is often treated with microvascular decompression (MVD) involving the intracranial placement of Teflon. The placement of Teflon is an effective treatment, but does apply distributed pressure to the nerve and has been associated with pain recurrence. OBJECTIVE To report the rate of postoperative pain recurrence in TN patients who underwent MVD surgery using a transposition technique with fibrin glue without Teflon. METHODS Patients were eligible for our study if they were diagnosed with TN, did not have multiple sclerosis, and had an offending vessel that was identified and transposed with fibrin glue at our institution. All eligible patients were given a follow-up survey. We used a Kaplan-Meier (KM) model to estimate overall pain recurrence. RESULTS A total of 102 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 85 (83%) responded to our survey. Overall, 76 (89.4%) participants responded as having no pain recurrence. Approximately 1-yr pain-free KM estimates were 94.1% (n = 83), 5-yr pain-free KM estimates were 94.1% (n = 53), and 10-yr pain-free KM estimates were 83.0% (n = 23). CONCLUSION Treatment for TN with an MVD transposition technique using fibrin glue may avoid some cases of pain recurrence. The percentage of patients in our cohort who remained pain free at a maximum of 17 yr follow-up is on the high end of pain-free rates reported by MVD studies using Teflon. These results indicate that a transposition technique that emphasizes removing any compression near the trigeminal nerve root provides long-term pain-free rates for patients with TN.

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Therapy of trigeminal neuralgia secondary to multiple sclerosis

Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics ◽

10.1586/14737175.3.5.661 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 3 (5) ◽

pp. 661-671 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Massimo Leandri

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Trigeminal Neuralgia

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Association between Trigeminal Neuralgia and Multiple Sclerosis: Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging

10.53350/pjmhs211561927 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. 1927-1930

Author(s):

Tahir Baig ◽

Adnan Ahmed ◽

Atif Hussain ◽

Rabia Shah ◽

Muhammad Tahir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽

Wilcoxon Test ◽

P Value ◽

World Population ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Affected Side

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a severe neuropathic unilateral facial pain affecting about 30% percent of the world population. Neuropathic pains are considered to be associated with multiple sclerosis (MS).Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition causing demyelination and degeneration of axons in central nervous system. Objective: The objective of the study is to determine role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging to find association between trigeminal neuralgia and multiple sclerosis. Methods: The prospective cohort study was conducted for six months in Radiology Department of Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar from September 2020 to February 2021. Initially 250 patients were screened for multiple sclerosis. The study recruited a total of 35 patients of MS visited neuroradiology department, out of which 26 patients were enrolled in the study. The participants with age of 18 years and onward of both genders with definitive symptoms of TN with MS that is having unilateral TN pain (that is sharp shooting electric pulse like) lasting for up-to 2minutes precipitated with an environmental stimulus were included in the study. The patients (n=6) with bilateral MS with TN and cognitive disturbances (n=3) were excluded from the study. Results: The study recruited a total of 26 participants with MS related TN. The clinical examination didn’t show any difference between the three groups with the p-value less than 0.001. Age at the onset of MS was younger in patients with MS related sensory disturbances compared to other two groups, with p-value less than 0.05. The frequency of the affected side was different in all three groups with the p-value less than 0.05 as tested by Fischer exact test. Trigeminal reflex tests done for different components such as R1 and SP1 showed longer latency periods for the affected side after stimulation and unaffected side after stimulation with the mean of 14.2± 4.4 and 15.3±3.2, 16.3±4.2 and 17.4±5.2ms and p-value less than 0.001 as shown by Wilcoxon test. Conclusion: The study showed significant association between trigeminal neuralgia and multiple sclerosis with the greater efficacy of using MRI as imaging technique to find this association. Keywords: Multiple sclerosis, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Trigeminal neuralgia

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