Surgical management of coexisting trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm

Correlation study between multiplanar reconstruction trigeminal nerve angulation and trigeminal neuralgia

OBJECTIVES

Neurovascular compression (NVC) produces morphological changes on the trigeminal nerve root is considered the cause of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), but there were some patients with TN found no NVC, and also NVC was found in asymptomatic individuals. Many studies found tight relationships of TN and morphological structures of trigeminal nerve. We designed this study to explore the correlation between multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) trigeminal nerve angulation (TNA) and TN.

METHODS

Patients with classical symptoms of TN were recruited as observation group (OG) in this study, 50 healthy controls were enrolled as control group (CG), the OG was further subtyped into young patients (YP), middle-aged patients (MP) and old patients (OP) based to the onset age of symptoms, and also divided into patients with or without trigger maneuvers (TM) based on the presence of TM or not. All the participants underwent magnetic resonance (MR) examinations in same device, bilateral TNA measurements were carried out in OG and CG, then TNA was compared between different groups or subgroups. All images were interpreted by two radiologists who were blinded to the study, diagnosis of TN was made by two senior neurosurgery professors.

RESULT

Ultimately, 95 patients with primary TN were recruited in OG, aged from 25 to 84 (61.15 ± 12.70) years with a course of 0.5 to 30 (5.03 ± 5.41) years, their onset age ranged from 24 to 82 (56.13 ± 11.98) years. There were 34 males and 61 females in OG, and 58 cases involved right side. The CG aged from 22 to 85 (61.86 ± 13.03) years. No statistical difference was found between the age of OG and CG(p = 0.76), and also the bilateral TNA of CG (154.92 ± 16.90° vs 155.55 ± 17.03°, p > 0.05), while TNA of OG was significantly smaller than CG (150.78 ± 11.29° vs 155.24 ± 16.88°, p = 0.019). In OG, TNA on the affected side was significantly smaller than the unaffected side (149.29 ± 12.44° vs 152.27 ± 9.85°, p = 0.014). TNA showed a positive correlation with onset age of patients with TN, as TNA on the affected side of YP was significantly smaller than MP and OP (139.00 ± 11.64° vs 148.86 ± 11.54°, 139.00 ± 11.64° vs 152.18 ± 12.61°, p = 0.004 and 0.026). Furthermore, patients with TM showed smaller TNA than those without TM (147.05 ± 11.30° vs 164.75 ± 8.39°, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggested that TNA might play a role in TN, small TNA could be a risk factor of TN. Furthermore, patients with small TNA are more likely to combine with TM, but more studies are needed to explore the exact role of TNA in TN.

A Rare Combined Trigeminal Neuralgia with Hemifacial Spasm in a 78-year-old Male Patient

This case reported a 78-year-old male patient presented with combined trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm, which is a rare finding and seldom addressed. Magnetic resonance imaging examination showed compression of right N.V by the right superior cerebellar artery (SCA) but did not prove any compression on the right N.VII. This patient is treated with microvascular decompression, and we found out compression of right N.V by right SCA and N.VII from the right anterior inferior cerebellar artery. Postoperatively, the symptoms were resolved with transient hypoesthesia and no recurrence after 1-year follow-up.

The Epidemiology, Cause, and Prognosis of Painful Tic Convulsif Syndrome: An Individual Patient Data Analysis of 192 Cases

BACKGROUND

Characterized by the coexistence of trigeminal neuralgia and ipsilateral hemifacial spasm (HFS), painful tic convulsif (PTC) is a rare entity that has not yet been systematically studied.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically explore the epidemiology, cause, prognosis, and prognosis predictors of PTC.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for relevant studies published between establishment of the library and July 1, 2020. Information on demographics, causes, specific interventions, and intervention outcomes was extracted. We first performed descriptive analysis of demographics, causes, and surgical outcomes of PTC. Univariate and multivariate regression methods were used to explore potential prognosis predictors. Further, a 2-step meta-analysis method was used to validate the identified factors.

RESULTS

Overall, 57 reports including 192 cases with PTC were included in the analysis. The median age of patients with PTC is 54 years (range, 44-62 years), with more patients being female (P < 0.001), initiated as HFS (P = 0.005), and being affected with left side (P = 0.045). The vertebrobasilar artery contributes to >65% of the causes of single vascular compression for PTC. Anterior inferior cerebellar artery/posterior inferior cerebellar artery involvement (odds ratio, 4.050; 95% confidence interval, 1.091-15.031) and older age (P = 0.008) predict freedom from symptoms and recurrence after microvascular decompression, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

PTC occurs more in middle-aged women between 40 and 60 years old, initiates as HFS, and affects the left side. Vertebrobasilar artery compression is the most common single cause of PTC. Microvascular decompression effectively treated PTC, with a cure rate >80%. Anterior inferior cerebellar artery/posterior inferior cerebellar artery involvement predicts successful surgery and older age predicts recurrence.