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In a 68-year-old female patient glossopharyngeal neuralgia of unknown origin occurred accompained by cardiac arrhythmias (bradycardia to asystole) and loss of consciousness. Subcutaneous atropine injections improved bradycardia but did not influence attacks of pain. Complete and permanent freedom from symptoms was established only after treatment with carbamazepine (Tegretal) 200 mg t.d.s.
Although relatively frequent in our experience saphenous neuralgia (SN) is not usually reported as a complication of vascular operations below the inguinal ligament. In 55 patients undergoing extended deep femoral angioplasty (EDFA, n = 28) and femoropopliteal bypass graft (FPBG, n = 27) special attention was paid to incidence and severity of postoperative SN. Severe early postoperative SN was seen in 8/28 patients with EDFA and in 6/27 with FPBG. Milder SN was seen in 10 more patients with EDFA, and 3 other developed SN many months after surgery. The milder forms of SN and late SN were not encountered after FPBG. SN usually improved with the passage of time, and at last follow-up averaging 18 months for EDFA and 33 months for FPBG there remained only 23 patients with mild SN (15 after EDFA and 8 after FPBG). The etiology of SN appears to be trauma to the nerve sustained during operation. Age, sex, diabetes, or the addition of lumbar sympathectomy to the vascular operation did not affect the risk of sustaining early postoperative SN. Increased awareness of this complication may help to understand its pathophysiology better, and possibly to decrease its incidence.
Serum IgG antibody levels against herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 subunit (capsid, envelope, and excreted) antigens detected with radioimmunoassay were compared in 25 patients with trigeminal neuralgia and their age- and sex-matched controls. No significant differences were found between the patients and controls, either in the distribution of the antibody titers or in the mean titers against any of the subunit antigens tested. In 6 patients HSV antibody titers were tested before and after trigeminal root section; no significant changes were observed.
Of 157 patients with trigeminal neuralgia, referred for neurosurgery, 81 underwent 85 ganglion or root injections. The results, which are analysed with regard to pain relief and sensory loss, compare favourably with results from the literature of other forms of surgery, particularly open temporal root section.
Eleven patients with sustained neuralgia, in most cases after traumatic nerve lesion, were subjected to quantitative sensory testing with thermal and non-noxious mechanical stimuli. Measurements were made in the pain area and at a homologous site on the contralateral normal side. All patients were hypoaesthetic with raised thresholds for warm and cold or touch, or both. Thermal pain thresholds were also raised in some patients but lowered in others indicating hypersensitivity of the nociceptor system or dysaesthesia for thermal input. In six patients single mechanical stimuli produced a painful response above the touch detection threshold. Reaction time measurements indicated that this painful response to suprathreshold mechanical pulses was measured by magnitude estimation as a function of stimulus amplitude. The results were fitted by power functions, as in normal skin, but with steeper slopes on the abnormal side. Suprathreshold hyperaesthesia (recruitment) may exist in the presence of normal threshold functioning.
The application of neuroanatomical and neurophysiological principles to the functional surgery of the trigeminal nerve is discussed. Particular attention has been directed toward correlating the three-dimensional anatomical features of the trigeminal nerve and the surrounding structures to the two-dimensional radiograph of this same region. In this regard, 20 trigeminal nerves, including the surrounding neurovascular structures from 10 cadaver sphenoid blocks, were examined. Measurements of the third, fourth and sixth cranial nerves in relation to the profile of the clivus were made from lateral radiographs of the sphenoid blocks. The position of the internal carotid artery in relation to these structures was also noted. These neurovascular relationships are of clinical importance when using the percutaneous thermocoagulation technique for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.
Various factors have been considered in the etiology and pathogenesis of glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Vascular compression of the involved cranial nerves has been demonstrated in sporadic cases. In this series of six patients, it was noted with the aid of the operating microscope that the ninth and tenth cranial nerves were compressed by a tortuous vertebral artery or posterior inferior cerebellar artery at the nerve root entry zone in five cases. In selected patients, microvascular decompression without section of the nerves may result in a cure.
BACKGROUND: The proteome represents a valuable resource for identifying therapeutic targets and clarifying disease mechanisms in neurological disorders. This study investigated potential causal relationships between plasma proteins and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). METHODS: We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from the Decode Genetics dataset (4,907 plasma proteins) and the FinnGen database (490 PHN cases and 435,371 controls). Instrumental variables (IVs) were selected based on relevance, independence, and exclusivity. Causal associations were assessed using inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, simple mode, weighted mode, and weighted median methods. Sensitivity analyses, including leave-one-out tests, evaluated result robustness, while colocalization analysis examined shared causal variants between traits. RESULTS: Eight plasma proteins showed significant associations with PHN (PFDR < 0.05). Higher levels of ATRN, PIANP, and CD48 correlated with increased PHN risk, whereas elevated KIR2DL5A, GPI, SEMG2, EIF4B, and HFE2 levels were associated with reduced risk. Sensitivity analyses supported these findings and excluded genetic pleiotropy as a major confounding factor. Colocalization analysis did not detect shared causal variants (PPH4 < 0.8). CONCLUSION: These results suggest a potential causal role for eight plasma proteins in PHN pathogenesis. While these proteins may serve as biomarkers or therapeutic candidates, further validation is required. This study advances understanding of PHN pathophysiology and supports future investigations into diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a persistent neuropathic pain condition after herpes zoster that frequently coexists with sleep disturbance, medication-related problems, and fluctuating symptoms. This study evaluated whether a standardized nursing-led protocol could improve multidimensional short-term outcomes beyond usual care. In this prospective, parallel-group randomized controlled trial, 128 adults with PHN were allocated 1:1 to usual care or usual care plus an eight-week protocol integrating structured pain assessment, sleep monitoring, medication-adherence support, and rule-based digital symptom monitoring. The primary outcome was the between-group difference in change in Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain score from baseline to Week 8. Secondary outcomes included Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), MMAS-8 medication adherence, symptom burden, pain-related nocturnal awakenings, breakthrough pain, rescue analgesic use, adverse events, rule-based alerts, and nursing satisfaction. Week-8 data were available for 116 participants (57 usual care; 59 protocol). Mean NRS scores decreased from 7.19 ± 1.08 to 4.82 ± 1.53 in the usual-care group and from 7.28 ± 1.05 to 3.24 ± 1.28 in the protocol group. An NRS reduction of at least 2 points occurred in 49.1% and 76.3% of participants, respectively. The protocol group also showed larger improvements in PSQI, MMAS-8, symptom burden, and nocturnal awakenings, with fewer breakthrough-pain episodes and less rescue-analgesic use. These findings support further evaluation of the standardized nursing-led protocol in preregistered multicenter trials with intention-to-treat analyses and longer follow-up.
A 64-year-old male with glossopharyngeal neuralgia, cardiac asystole and grand mal seizures has been relieved of his attacks by intake of 400 mg of Carbamazepine per day over a 4-year period. Simultaneous EEG-EKG recordings before and after drinking water document the diagnosis.
One case of trigeminal neuralgia and operative giant basilar aneurism is reported. This feature is quite rare, this case however emphasizes the importance of further investigations before surgery, especially if a direct approach is considered.
The complications after neurosurgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia of 161 patients treated in the neurosurgical hospital university medical school Bonn from 1971 to 1974 are referred. Emphasis is layed on severe complications. After rhizotomia (Dandys method) 3 patients died, one of them because of a meningitis, one of them because of damage of the superior petrosal vein and one after ligature of an irregular auditive artery. One patient died after electrocoagulation of the ganglion Gasseri (Kirschner's method) after having had an important bleeding during coagulation. Another patient developed hemiparesis after a strong arterial bleeding during electrocoagulation. The damage of importance arterial vessels seems to be decisive. Three proposals in order to diminish the risk of the operations are settled: 1. Preoperative neuroradiological checks by means of contrast. 2. Carefully sparing of vessels, especially when precedent scars had alterated the field of operation, perhaps if necessary by means of the operation mikroscope. 3. Control of the lokalisation of the needle during electrocoagulation by X-rays.
The spectrum of migraine has been outlined with particular attention to two entities: Ophthalmoplegic Migraine and Periodic Migrainous Neuralgia. Although quite different in many respects from classical migraine, the relationship of a periodic localized vascular phenomenon giving rise to headache and transient neurologic signs, classify PMN and OPGM as migraine variants. Supportive of this concept, the literature has been reviewed in both entities, and some observations are made on the validity of earlier reports. It is the author's opinion that Raeder's syndrome should be reserved for patients with a lesion localizing in the paratrigeminal area. This does not exclude migraine as an etiologic agent but also recognizes tumors, infections and fractures as being more common.
Peripheral neurectomy affords a conservative method of relieving the pain of trigeminal neuralgia. Although the relief is temporary, the procedure can be repeated when the pain recurs. At Ochsner Clinic, 162 neurectomies were performed on 88 patients between 1956 and 1971. This includes 112 neurectomies performed on 63 patients between 1956 and 1965 from the previous report. This form of treatment is particularly indicated for an aged or severely debilitated patient in whom craniotomy is contraindicated. The total pain-free period obtained from repeated peripheral neurectomies is significant and justifies the use of the procedure. The median pain-free period among the 88 patients was 41 months with a mean of 52.5 months.
In the present paper it is reported on therapeutical experience gained within one and a half years at 27 patients with various forms of trigeminal neuralgias. In the group of the idiopathic, symptomatic, and atypical forms, therapy was totally successful in 55%, relatively successful in 35%, and failed in 10% of the cases. As to the psychogenic form, therapy was successful in 6 of 7 patients. Within a year after therapy had been terminated, a third of the patients suffered a relapse. When repeating acupuncture, patients do not seem to respond to the therapy as favorably as before.
The complicated anatomy of the masticatory system with its coordinated functional elements offers a multitude of noxae for atypical neuralgias. More specifically, affections of the pulp, apical periodontopathies with cyst formation, impacted teeth, aggressive osteopathies and malignant growth come into consideration. In addition, dysfunctional unions must be borne in mind. The styloid syndrome also deserves attention. Because of this causal complex the discovery of other puzzling painful conditions needs dental investigation.
A case of atypical facial pain over the distribution of the maxillary nerve (V2) has been presented as well as its treatment. The maxillary nerve section using the dissecting microscope is a relatively new procedure with potential to become an accepted treatment of intractable V2 neuralgia. A brief review of possible complications of the procedure was presented.
In the presence of idiopathic and neuralgiform pain in the trigeminal area, differential diagnosis will have to eliminate sinus disturbances, toothache, TMJ trouble and neuromuscular spasms derived thereof. Neuralgias unconnected to these causes are treated by electrobiological testing of the neurotoxins. Symptomatic immediate treatment was formerly done by enneural injection. Now, a special technique of auriculoacupuncture has been successful for some time.