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van Kleef, M., van Genderen, W.E., Narouze, S., Nurmikko, T.J., van Zundert, J., Geurts, J.W. and Mekhail, N. (2009) 1. Trigeminal neuralgia. Pain Practice: The Official Journal of World Institute of Pain, 9, 252-259.

has been cited by the following article:

• 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.