TITLE:
Necessity of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) using an appropriate sequence for diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia associated with intracranial tumor
AUTHORS:
Yoko Yamazaki, Tomoko Niimi, Yuko Ando, Daisuke Tomizawa, Masahiko Shimada
KEYWORDS:
Trigeminal Neuralgia; Intracranial Tumor; Benign Tumor; MRI; Neurosurgery
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Stomatology,
Vol.3 No.9,
December
24,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Aims:
Trigeminal neuralgia is generally caused by neurovascular compression. In rare
cases intracranial tumors may also lead to this condition. The present study
was conducted to identify clinical symptoms and testing methods that are useful
for early detection of trigeminal neuralgia associated with intracranial tumor.
Methods: Five patients with trigeminal neuralgia suspected to be due to
intracranial tumor, who visited our department for the first time during the
period between February 2007 and March 2009, were examined. We analyzed the
medical records and MRI findings of these patients. The clinical symptoms of
subjects were compared to those presented at the International Classification
of Headache Disorders. Results: There were no feature symptoms to trigeminal
neuralgia caused by intracranial tumors compared with trigeminal neuralgia in
general. None of the patients complained of spontaneous headache and nausea,
which are clinical symptoms characteristic of brain tumor. Head MRI at our
hospital was the most accurate method to detect intracranial tumors. Finally
four of five patients received brain surgery to remove tumors. Conclusion: Small
tumors and roots of the trigeminal nerve may not create accurate images by
regular head MRI. Therefore, MRI using the imaging sequence which enables
accurate visualization of roots of the trigeminal nerve is essential to
confirm the presence of tumors in patients with suspected trigeminal
neuralgia.