Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Trigeminal neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia, or Tic Douloureux, is a neuropathic disorder of the trigeminal nerve that causes episodes of intense pain in the eyes, lips, nose, scalp, forehead, and jaw. Trigeminal neuralgia is considered by many to be among the most painful of conditions and has been labeled the "suicide disease," due to the significant numbers of people taking their own lives because they were unable to have their pain controlled with medications or surgery. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
Candidiasis
Tachycardia
Taeniasis
Talipes equinovarus
TAR syndrome
Tardive dyskinesia
Tarsal tunnel syndrome
Tay syndrome ichthyosis
Tay-Sachs disease
Telangiectasia
Telangiectasia,...
TEN
Teratoma
Teratophobia
Testotoxicosis
Tetanus
Tetraploidy
Thalassemia
Thalassemia major
Thalassemia minor
Thalassophobia
Thanatophobia
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Thrombocytopenia
Thrombocytosis
Thrombotic...
Thymoma
Thyroid cancer
Tick paralysis
Tick-borne encephalitis
Tietz syndrome
Tinnitus
Todd's paralysis
Topophobia
Torticollis
Touraine-Solente-Golé...
Tourette syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome
Toxocariasis
Toxoplasmosis
Tracheoesophageal fistula
Trachoma
Transient...
Transient Global Amnesia
Transposition of great...
Transverse myelitis
Traumatophobia
Treacher Collins syndrome
Tremor hereditary essential
Trichinellosis
Trichinosis
Trichomoniasis
Trichotillomania
Tricuspid atresia
Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigger thumb
Trimethylaminuria
Triplo X Syndrome
Triploidy
Trisomy
Tropical sprue
Tropophobia
Trypanophobia
Tuberculosis
Tuberous Sclerosis
Tularemia
Tungiasis
Turcot syndrome
Turner's syndrome
Typhoid
Typhus
Tyrosinemia
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

An estimated one in 15,000 people suffers from trigeminal neuralgia, although numbers may be significantly higher due to frequent misdiagnosis. It usually develops after the age of 40 and affects women in a 2:1 ratio.

Pathophysiology

The trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve, a mixed cranial nerve responsible for sensory data such as tactition (pressure), thermoception (temperature), and nociception (pain) originating from the face above the jawline; it is also responsible for the motor function of the muscles of mastication, the muscles involved in chewing but not facial expression. Several theories exist to explain the possible causes of this pain syndrome. Among the structural causes, damage to the myelin sheath of this nerve causes the electrical impulses traveling along it to be erratic or excessive, activating pain regions or deactivating pain inhibitory regions in the brain. The damage may be caused by an aneurysm (an outpouching of a blood vessel) or abnormally coursing artery compressing the nerve, most frequently at the area of its cerebellopontine nerve root; the superior cerebellar artery has been an oft-cited culprit. Two to 4% of patients with TN, usually younger, have evidence of multiple sclerosis, which may damage either the trigeminal nerve or other related parts of the brain. Trigeminal Neuralgia may also be caused by a tumor or a traumatic event such as a car accident. When there is no structural cause, the syndrome is called idiopathic. Postherpetic Neuralgia, which occurs after shingles, may cause similar symptoms if the trigeminal nerve is affected.

Symptoms

The episodes of pain occur paroxysmally, or suddenly, sometimes triggered by common activities or cold exposure, and are said to feel like stabbing electric shocks. Individual attacks affect one side of the face at a time, last several seconds, and may come and go throughout the day, or for periods as long as several months. Three to 5% of cases are bilateral, and attacks may increase in frequency or severity over time. Although trigeminal neuralgia is not fatal, successive recurrences may be incapacitating, and the fear of provoking an attack may make sufferers reluctant to engage in normal activities.

There is a variant of trigeminal neuralgia called, "atypical trigeminal neuralgia." In some cases of atypical trigeminal neuralgia, the sufferer experiences a severe, relentless underlying pain similar to a migraine in addition to the stabbing pains. In other cases, the pain is stabbing and intense, but may feel like burning or prickling, rather than a shock. Sometimes, the pain is a combination of the zaps, the migraine-like pain, and the burning/prickly pain.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Striking Back (Striking Back The Trigeminal Neuralgia and Face Pain Handbook 2004) $24.95 Trigeminal Neuralgia $69.50
Striking Back: The Trigeminal Neuralgia Handbook $17.79

Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia is a disorder of the trigeminal nerve (the fifth cranial nerve) that causes episodes of sharp, stabbing pain in the cheek, lips, gums, ...
Surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia - Home Study Program
TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA, which is unilateral electric shock or knifelike pain occurring in one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve, is evoked by stimulation of the face, lips, or gums caused by
trigemino-cervical reflex in patients with trigeminal neuralgia, The
Objectives: To investigate the central trigeminal system in idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Materials and methods: Short latency responses can be ...
Case Report: Diagnosis and Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia and Chronic Paroxysmal Hemicrania in a 43-Year-Old Woman-Oral and Transmucosal Pharmacologic
Case History A 43-year-old woman, who had a thirteen-year history of severe right-sided facial pain associated with dysautonomia, presented for a dental ...
Parkinson's disease, Meniere's syndrome, Trigeminal neuralgia and Bell's palsy: One cause, one correction
Abstract I currently have 16 Meniere's syndrome, two Parkinson's disease, two Trigeminal neuralgia and two Bell's palsy patients under my care. They all ...
Neuralgia
Neuralgia is defined as an intense burning or stabbing pain caused by irritation of or damage to a nerve. The pain is usually brief but may be severe. It often feels as if it is shooting along the cou
Neuralgia
Neuralgia describes a variety of rare and painful conditions in which shooting, stabbing, burning, pain; electric-like shocks; or tingling, pins and needles, ...
Taking the sting out of trigeminal neuralgia
ControllingPain QUESTION: My patient is being treated for trigeminal neuralgia (TN) with 100 mg of carbamazepine (Tegretol) b.i.d. He doesn't have a seizure disorder, so why the anticonvulsant? ANS

Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay