EC Paediatrics

Trigeminal neuralgia, also called tic douloureux, is a nerve disorder characterized by lancinating attacks of severe facial pain [1]. This disorder is generally caused by demyelination of trigeminal sensory fibers within the nerve root or brainstem [2]. Due to its initial appearance in the two lower branches of the trigeminal nerve, it is frequently mistaken as a tooth problem [3].

The incidence of trigeminal neuralgia is about 4-5:100,000 [4]. In 90% of the cases, the symptoms begin after age 40, thus the diagnosis is most common after age 50 [1,4]. There does not seem to be a particular ethnic group, climate or geographical area where trigeminal neuralgia is more prevalent [1]. This disorder occurs in both gender, but 1.5 times more common in women than in men [4]. Despite familial cases of trigeminal neuralgia have been reported, most cases occur spontaneously [1].

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3. Zakrzewska JM and Linskey ME. “Trigeminal neuralgia”. British Medical Journal (2014): 348.
4. Van Kleef M., et al. “Trigeminal neuralgia”. In: van Zundert J, Patijn J, Hartrick CT, Lataster A, Huygen FJPM, Mekhail N, Van Kleef M, editors. Evidence‐based interventional pain medicine: according to clinical diagnoses. John Wiley and Sons (2011): 1-7.
5. Zhou Y. “Principles of pain management”. In: Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel G, Jankovic J, editors. Neurology in clinical practice. 5th edition (2012).
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8. Montano N., et al. “Advances in diagnosis and treatment of trigeminal neuralgia”. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management (2015): 289-299.
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10. Retsky R., et al. “Calcitonin gene-related peptide and trigeminal neuralgia”. SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine1 (2023): 75.
11. Fried K and Hansson PT. “Animal models of trigeminal neuralgia: a commentary”. Molecular Pain 16 (2020): 1744806920980538.