Acta neurochirurgica
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Acta neurochirurgica · Jul 2019
Comparative StudyDiffusion tensor imaging abnormalities of the trigeminal nerve root in patients with classical trigeminal neuralgia: a pre- and postoperative comparative study 4 years after microvascular decompression.
As diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is able to assess tissue integrity, authors used diffusion to detect abnormalities in trigeminal nerves (TGN) in patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) caused by neurovascular compression (NVC) who had undergone microvascular decompression (MVD). The authors also studied anatomical TGN parameters (cross-sectional area [CSA] and volume [V]). The study compared pre- and postoperative findings. ⋯ DTI revealed a loss of anisotropy and an increase in diffusivity in affected nerves before surgery. Diffusion alterations correlated with atrophic changes in patients with TN caused by NVC. After removal of the compression, the loss of FA remained, but ADC normalized in the affected nerves, suggesting improvement in the diffusion of the trigeminal root.