Demyelinating Plaques: A Cause of Trigeminal Neuralgia Secondary to MS

Demyelinating plaques play a primary role in the etiology of trigeminal neuralgia secondary to multiple sclerosis (TN-MS), whereas neurovascular contact plays no role, according to study results in Cephalalgia. Likewise, microvascular decompression may not be a suitable treatment strategy for patients with TN-MS.

In this study, a Danish team of researchers sought to determine whether neurovascular contact with morphological changes influences the etiology of TN-MS. They prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with TN-MS from the Danish Headache Center. The study investigators systematically collected clinical characteristics and neuroanatomical abnormalities in these patients. A blinded neuroradiologist performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for examination of the trigeminal nerve.