Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), also called tic douloureux, is a condition that is characterized by intermittent, shooting pain in the face.Trigeminal neuralgia affects the trigeminal nerve, one of the largest nerves in the head. The trigeminal nerve sends impulses of touch, pain, pressure, and temperature to the brain from the face, jaw, gums, forehead, and around the eyes. The fact that TGN pain is not continuous but paroxysmal speaks against a simple compression induced generation of ectopic impulses at the level of the injury. It is more likely that the paroxysms of pain in this condition represent spontaneous discharges in select neurones whose threshold for repetitive firing has been altered. To comply with the characteristics of TGN, such firing should not only occur spontaneously but be produced frequently by innocuous tactile stimuli. Depression is often seen in patients with trigeminal neuralgia; thus, this underlying depression should be adequately treated. Tricyclic antidepressants (eg, amitriptyline, nortriptyline), as well as sodium valproate or pregabalin, have not been well studied. Amitriptyline (Elavil) can be tried, but the success rate is low. Finland people around 121,761 among the total population are suffering from this disease that is 1.58% of the population effected.