The Clinical journal of pain
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Stereotactic radiosurgery is an increasingly used and the least invasive surgical option for patients with medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The authors began use of this technique at our center in 1992 and have evaluated outcomes serially. Independently acquired data from 220 patients with idiopathic TN that had Gamma Knife radiosurgery was reviewed. ⋯ Ten percent of patients developed new or increased subjective facial paresthesia or facial numbness. Radiosurgery for idiopathic TN was safe and effective, and provided benefit to a patient population with a high frequency of prior surgical intervention. It is an important addition to the surgical armamentarium for TN.
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Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic facial pain classified as a neuropathic pain. There is widespread agreement regarding the International Association for the Study of Pain definition of classical idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia as "a sudden, usually unilateral, severe, brief, stabbing, recurrent pain in the distribution of one or more branches of the fifth cranial nerve." However, there are variations in presentation that are less easy to diagnose and an erroneous diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia is occasionally made. In patients with tumors or multiple sclerosis, trigeminal neuralgia is termed secondary. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and three-dimensional fast-in-flow with steady-state precession MRI are performed to determine the presence of tumors or plaques of multiple sclerosis and to assess possible compressions and deformations of the trigeminal nerve. Their specificity and sensitivity regarding compressions found at the time of surgery is reviewed. Other differential diagnoses for chronic unilateral orofacial pain are discussed.
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There are no satisfactory animal models of trigeminal neuralgia, and it is difficult to obtain essential data from patients. However, trigeminal neuralgia presents with such idiosyncratic signs and symptoms, and responds to so distinctive a set of therapeutic modalities, that scientific deduction can be used to generate likely hypotheses. The ignition hypothesis of trigeminal neuralgia is based on recent advances in the understanding of abnormal electrical behavior in injured sensory neurons, and new histopathologic observations of biopsy specimens from patients with trigeminal neuralgia who are undergoing microvascular decompression surgery. ⋯ The hyperexcitable afferents, in turn, give rise to pain paroxysms as a result of synchronized afterdischarge activity. The ignition hypothesis accounts for the major positive and negative signs and symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia, for its pathogenesis, and for the efficacy of treatment modalities. Proof, however, awaits the availability of key experimental data that can only be obtained from patients with trigeminal neuralgia.
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The aims of this study were to (1) identify behaviors that occur in noncommunicative nursing home residents that are perceived by nurses to be indicators of pain, (2) determine factors affecting the differentiation of pain behaviors from similar behaviors due to other causes, and (3) assess nurses' perceptions of the prevalence and importance of specific indicators of pain as well as barriers to the detection of pain in this population. ⋯ The study of pain among the noncommunicative elderly and, in particular, the development of a tool that can be used to assess their pain may greatly improve the quality of life of the estimated 20% to 35% of nursing home residents who cannot adequately express their needs.